The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 23, 2024
Judgment of Paris
c. 1505
(Italian)
Diameter: 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
Fonduli's relief depicts the ancient tale of the judgment of Paris, a mythological beauty contest for three Greek goddesses judged by the Trojan prince Paris. He holds an apple in his hand while Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena stand before him. Aphrodite extends a hand, signifying her attainment of the apple, and Athena holds the flaming head of a beast in the air, suggesting the imminent conflict of the Trojan War. In some versions of the story, only Aphrodite appears naked before Paris, but in Fonduli's work, Hera and Athena are completely nude, while Aphrodite ineffectually holds light drapery to shield her lower body. Fonduli blurs the identity of the three goddesses, showing that there is little difference in their respective beauty.- Cyril Humphris, Ltd. (London, England), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1984.
- Collecting Drawings in England. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 3, 1987-January 17, 1988).Year in Review for 1984. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 3-May 5, 1985).
- {{cite web|title=Judgment of Paris|url=false|author=Giovanni Paolo Fonduli|year=c. 1505|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1984.54