The Judgment of Paris c. 1645

Claude Lorrain’s “The Judgment of Paris,” a pen and brown ink drawing from c. 1645, depicts the Greek mythological tale of the shepherd Paris and his judgment of three goddesses. The drawing is a study for Lorrain’s painting, "The Judgment of Paris," (1638-39), now at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In the drawing, Paris sits in contemplation while the goddesses Minerva, Venus, and Juno stand behind him, while a winged Cupid flies above the scene. This composition would eventually be reversed in Lorrain’s painting. The drawing, like many of Lorrain’s preparatory sketches, is a beautiful example of the artist’s talent in rendering landscape and figures.