The Dream of Paris

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Faced with choosing the fairest goddess among Minerva, Juno, and Venus, the Trojan prince Paris picked Venus, shown here holding a heart and the golden apple given as a prize in the contest, with her son Cupid frolicking at her feet. Paris wears the garb of a contemporary knight rather than classical dress, a choice that emphasizes the enduring relevance of his moral crossroads as well as, through contrast, the nudity of the goddesses. His sleeping pose and the painting’s inscription, PARIS / TRA(U)M (“dream of Paris,” on the slip of paper attached to the tree), indicate that he is in the midst of a dream vision, a poetic device carried over from medieval allegory and used to foreshadow future events in a narrative. Here, these include the departure of Paris and Helen by boat in the middle distance, the catalyst for the Trojan War.

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