The Choice of Paris 

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner offers us his jarring rendition of "The Choice of Paris," though the date of its creation remains unfixed. The artist propels us into a scene echoing ancient myth—three figures, reminiscent of the classical Three Graces, awaiting judgment. Their pale bodies, stark against the lurid backdrop, hint at a deeper, more unsettling narrative. The modern garb, the bobbed hair, these are not the goddesses of old, but specters of a new, fraught era. The male figure lurking in the shadows, our modern Paris, casts a pall over the scene, his choice laden with anxiety. Consider the "Judgment of Paris" motif as it appears in the Renaissance, a celebration of beauty and divine favor. Here, Kirchner strips away the idealized veneer, exposing the raw, psychological tension beneath. Like a recurring dream, the classical theme resurfaces, refracted through the lens of Expressionism, echoing humanity's perpetual dance with desire and choice.