Artwork
The Judgment of Paris
The Judgment of Paris is an unspecified painting by the Early Baroque Italian artist Hans Rottenhammer. It dates from 1605 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
Johann Rottenhammer’s *The Judgment of Paris* was painted in 1605. Executed on a modest scale, the work presents a mythic tableau set in a wooded landscape. The composition includes a man in a red tunic, a child, and three nude female figures, one of whom holds a red cloth. The painting belongs to the collection of the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
Subject & Meaning
The scene illustrates the legendary episode in which Paris must decide which of three goddesses receives a golden apple. The central figure appears to offer the child an apple, while the three women watch, embodying the moment of choice and its consequences within the narrative of the myth.
Technique & Style
Rottenhammer adopts an early Baroque Italian idiom, employing strong chiaroscuro to model forms and create depth. Light falls on the figures, contrasting with the darker forest backdrop, while the delicate rendering of flesh and drapery reflects the artist’s reputation for meticulous detail on a small canvas.
History & Provenance
Created during Rottenhammer’s Italian period, the painting later entered the holdings of the Bavarian state. It has been part of the Alte Pinakothek’s permanent collection since the museum’s early acquisitions, providing a representative example of the artist’s cross‑cultural influences.
Context
Rottenhammer, a German artist trained in the North, spent significant time in Italy, absorbing the emerging Baroque aesthetic. *The Judgment of Paris* exemplifies his synthesis of Northern precision with Italian dramatic lighting, situating the work within the broader exchange of artistic ideas at the turn of the 17th century.
Artist & collection
Artist
Johann Rottenhammer, or Hans Rottenhammer (1564 – 14 August 1625), was a German painter. He specialized in highly finished paintings on a small scale.
