Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

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Click to view high resolution image Title: The Story of Paris Creator: Francesco di Giorgio Martini, painter Description: To the left Paris judges the beauty of the goddesses Athena (who holds a shield), Juno, and Venus, who is completely nude. He hands the golden apple to Venus, who as a reward has promised him Helen of Troy, the world’s most beautiful woman. Paris spies Helen, who stands in the center of the composition and holds an archer’s bow—Helen was sometimes conflated with Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt, a tradition preserved in oral folk traditions and pagan cults that persisted into the medieval period. The next scene to the right (not shown here but visible in the linked high resolution image) depicts Paris carrying Helen off on horseback. This panel was part of a cassone, an elaborately painted chest that was often given to a bride by her new husband as part of their household furnishings. Themes of love and virtue were the subjects of many cassoni paintings. Source: Wikimedia Commons Rights: Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program. Subject (See Also): Artemis (Mythological Figure) Cassoni, Marriage Chests Classical Influences Helen of Troy (Mythological Figure) Judgement of Paris (Mythological Figure) Nude Venus (Mythological Figure) Geographic Area: Italy Century: 15 Date: ca. 1465 Related Work: There are two small side panels that accompany the central mythological narrative. Paris appears on the right and Helen, holding a bow, on the left. Current Location: Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum, 70.PB.45 Original Location: Artistic Type (Category): Digital images; Paintings Artistic Type (Material/Technique): Panel; Tempera Donor: Height/Width/Length(cm): 34.9 cm/109.1 cm/ Inscription: Related Resources:

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