Paris
Wilhelm Tischbein·c. 1787
Historical Context
Wilhelm Tischbein's Paris, painted around 1787, depicts the Trojan prince whose judgment of the three goddesses set in motion the events of the Trojan War. This painting likely formed a pair with the artist's Helen, both reflecting Tischbein's immersion in classical mythology during his Italian sojourn. The subject allowed Tischbein to demonstrate his Neoclassical ideal of male beauty derived from his study of ancient sculpture in Rome and Naples.
Technical Analysis
Tischbein's oil-on-canvas technique favors smooth, polished surfaces and clear contours that reflect his study of ancient sculpture. The idealized figure and carefully balanced composition embody the Neoclassical aesthetic that dominated Roman artistic circles in the 1780s.
Provenance
Acquired from an aristocratic family, Caserta, near Naples, by Claudio Marinelli, Caserta and Rome; in Marinelli's collection, Rome by 1993 [in an undated letter to Sylvain Bellenger received by July 16, 2015, Carlo Virgilio stated that the paintings were in Marinelli's collection in 1993 and that Virgilio was told that they had previously descended in an aristocratic family in Caserta for about two hundred years; letter in curatorial file]. Gioia Mori, Rome, until 2014 [email of 18 November 2014 from Carlo Virgilio to Sylvain Bellenger and from Stefano Grandesso to Alyse Muller on 9 June 2015; copies in curatorial file]; sold by her to Galleria Carlo Virgilio in 2014; sold to the Art Institute, 2015.
