A knight in full plate armor dozes beside his horse while a messenger god wakes him up. He's about to judge a beauty contest between three goddesses, and his choice will start a war.
What you're looking at
Lucas Cranach the Elder painted this scene around 1528, depicting the mythological Trojan prince Paris being woken by Mercury to judge a contest between the goddesses Minerva, Venus, and Juno. Rather than dressing Paris in classical Greek or Trojan clothing, Cranach paints him in contemporary German knight's armor and a large plumed beret, fully in the courtly fashion of his own 1520s German audience rather than ancient Troy.
An ancient myth in modern German dress
Mercury holds out the golden apple, the prize for whichever goddess Paris judges most beautiful, rendered here as a crystal orb rather than a simple piece of fruit. Cranach gives the three goddesses barely distinguishable faces, marking Venus apart mainly through her plumed velvet hat, while high above the whole scene, Cupid is shown already aiming his arrow at Venus — a visual hint that the outcome of Paris's judgment has effectively been decided before he even makes his choice. In the distance, a small city, presumably meant to represent Troy, hints at the war this decision will eventually spark.
This kind of mythological subject rendered in thoroughly contemporary German dress was a popular and lucrative theme for Cranach, whose workshop produced numerous courtly commissions built around the Judgment of Paris and similar classical love stories.
One detail to look for
Look up above the goddesses for Cupid, already drawing his bow at Venus. It's a small detail that quietly gives away the ending before Paris himself has made his choice.
See it at its real size
Our canvas print is labeled against the true size of the original — 101.9 x 71.1 cm — so what you're hanging is honestly scaled to the painting Cranach made. Shop the canvas print.