Van Dyck's Paris: A Study in Beauty
Explore Van Dyck's captivating portrait of Paris, the Trojan prince whose choice sparked a war.
Paris (1628) by Anthony van DyckThe Wallace Collection
Paris was the son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. He was prophesied to bring about the destruction of Troy and was thus abandoned on Mount Ida, where he was raised by shepherds.
As an adult, he judged the contest of the three goddesses, Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, awarding the golden apple to Aphrodite in exchange for the love of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world.
Paris's abduction of Helen from her husband Menelaus led to the Greek expedition against Troy, sparking the Trojan War. Ultimately, Paris's actions fulfilled the prophecy, contributing to Troy's downfall.
Paris (1628) by Anthony van DyckThe Wallace Collection
In one of the few surviving secular narrative works by Van Dyck, Paris is depicted with silvery flesh and in dramatic blue drapery.
The flesh tones are painted smoothly to efface virtually all texture and blended very smoothly from the light tones to the darker shadows, hiding any sharp contrasts to colour.
The seemingly simple approach of this painting belies its emotional power. Van Dyck's restraint in details and drama invites the viewer to engage with the work on a more personal level.
One arm draped across his chest, the other hanging, hand loosely clutching the golden apple.
The goddess’ beauty is implied in Paris’s rapt gaze, and has so transfixed the shepherd he can no longer hold his staff, which rests instead in the crook of his arm.
The mood is one of languorous sensuality, as Paris pauses in his moment of delight, lost in the beauty that surrounds him. The golden apple waits, its significance momentarily forgotten.
This portrait could be an allegory for art itself, for like Paris, the artist’s chief concern was beauty. Van Dyck’s personal vanity has been remarked upon, and his biographies littered with romantic anecdotes.
Perhaps it is then empathy that is at the root of this painting, for Paris can be an allegory for the fatal power of beauty.
Paris (1628) by Anthony van DyckThe Wallace Collection
The artist's choice, like Paris's, echoes a universal struggle between desire, consequence, and personal responsibility. We feel connected to Van Dyck's own experience through this timeless human dilemma.
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