The Judgment of Paris

The mythological scene The Judgment of Paris was executed by Claude Lorrain (Claude Gellée) in 1645, showcasing the French master’s skills in draftsmanship. This drawing is rendered using pen and brown ink with a delicate brown wash applied over preliminary black chalk sketches on laid paper, a support which has since been laid down onto a secondary backing. The controlled application of wash allowed Lorrain to meticulously define space, light, and volumetric form, creating a fully realized composition despite the absence of color. This careful technique underlines the drawing's purpose, likely serving as a preparatory study for a major commissioned painting, or as a modello to show a patron.

Dating specifically to the mid-seventeenth century, this work falls squarely within the critical period of 1601 to 1650, when French and Italian Baroque artists were increasingly turning to classical sources for inspiration. While Lorrain is internationally recognized for shaping the tradition of the idealized, pastoral landscape, his preliminary drawings often focused on figure studies and complex narrative moments, such as this depiction of Paris deciding the fate of the three competing goddesses: Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. The detailed execution and classical setting are hallmarks of the French artistic sensibilities that defined historical painting during this era.

This masterful composition is preserved in the collection of the National Gallery of Art, where it serves as a crucial document of Lorrain's working method and classical approach to storytelling. As preparatory drawings often reveal an artist’s immediate compositional ideas, this piece offers unique insight into the evolution of the artist’s finished canvases. Today, high-quality prints and digital reproductions of major works like this drawing are widely available, reflecting the piece’s status in the public domain and ensuring its accessibility for scholarly study and appreciation worldwide.