![]() Which is Juno and which Minerva is unclear, but the center figure must be Venus. The three goddesses are only very slightly differentiated, perhaps to emphasize the difficulty of Paris's decision. The apple he holds appears to be formed of rock crystal. Mercury's costume, including the breastplate with oak leaf decoration, the fringed red skirt beneath, and the extraordinary hat showing two birds ravenously eating seeds from a pod, His long coat and puffed, slashed sleeves reflect contemporary courtly fashion his huge beret with ostrich feather pom-poms, a type worn by high-ranking military commanders, perhaps was introduced here to appeal to the patron. ![]() He wears a full suit of knightly armor in the style of 1520 - 1525, including a lance rest his sword is by his side and he holds a decoratively embellished gold war hammer. Mercury nudges him awake with his staff, and Paris, in a sleepy stupor, observes the three beauties before him. In the Museum's painting, Paris has dismounted his horse and fallen asleep beneath a tree. Paris chose Venus and embarked for Sparta to abduct Helen and bring her to Troy, thus instigating the Trojan War. After Mercury brought the goddesses to the Trojan prince, each offered him a bribe: Juno, power Minerva, all human knowledge and Venus, the love of Helen of Troy, wife of the Spartan king, Menelaus, and the world's most beautiful woman. Juno, Venus, and Minerva all claimed ownership of the prize, and Jupiter decreed that their dispute could be settled only by Paris, son of the king of Troy. This legend relates how the goddess of discord Eris, peeved at not having been invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, attended unannounced and threw her golden apple, inscribed 'to the fairest' into the midst of the guests. Among the most popular mythological scenes produced by Lucas Cranach the Elder and his workshop were those featuring Venus and, in particular, the Judgment of Paris.
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