# The Judgment of Paris

**Lucas Cranach the Elder** (German, 1472–1553)  
ca. 1528  
Oil on beech  
40 1/8 x 28in. (101.9 x 71.1cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 28.221. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436037).

## About this work

Paris, dressed in the armour of a contemporary knight, sits beneath a tree as the three goddesses, Juno, Minerva and Venus, present themselves for his judgement, accompanied by Mercury, while Cupid appears above with his bow. Paris will award the golden apple to Venus, whose prize, the love of Helen, leads to the Trojan War. Lucas Cranach and his workshop painted the subject many times, and their slender, pale nudes, set against dark woods and wearing little but jewellery, were especially prized at the Saxon court.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

Lucas Cranach the Elder painted this in about 1528, aged about 51. It is now at The Met in New York.

### How it was made

- **Oil paint.** Pigment ground in a drying oil, usually linseed. It dries slowly, so painters could blend on the canvas, build up thin translucent glazes, and rework a picture over weeks. Canvas replaced wooden panels in the 1500s because it is lighter and can be rolled.

### [Lucas Cranach the Elder](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/lucas-cranach-the-elder)

German, 1472–1553; born in Kronach; died in Weimar

Cranach worked in Vienna before becoming court painter to the Electors of Saxony at Wittenberg in 1505, a post he held for decades. A close friend of Martin Luther, he painted the reformer and his circle many times and designed woodcuts for Protestant publications, while running a large, productive studio that turned out portraits, altarpieces and slender mythological nudes, including many versions of The Judgment of Paris. He followed the deposed Elector John Frederick into exile and died at Weimar.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Paintings
- The artist was about 51
- Real size: about 40 × 28 in (102 × 71 cm). The original is larger than our largest print, 20 × 30 in, so every print is a reduction.
- Century: 16th century
- Subjects: Men, Female Nudes, Cupid, Juno, Minerva, Venus, Horses, Paris
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1080.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1080/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-judgment-of-paris-met-436037).