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Pallas Athena, Venus and Juno
Hans von Aachen (German (Cologne) 1552–1615)
German
1593
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
54 x 67 cm (21 1/4 x 26 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Juliana Cheney Edwards Collection
Accession Number1988.345
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Paris, prince of Troy, was made to choose the most beautiful among three goddesses, here identifiable by their attributes: Pallas Athena with her helmet; Venus, the winner, holding the golden apple; and Juno, with the crescent moon at her head. Such a painting required a sophisticated viewer to decipher its subject without narrative context. It was probably commissioned by a member of Rudolph II's court at Prague, where Hans von Aachen was named court painter in 1592. Rudolph II was known as a great supporter of the arts and the creator of Europe's most extensive Kunstkammer.
InscriptionsMonogrammed and dated 1592 or 1593
Provenance1872, Durnovo Family, Moscow; 1872, given by the Durnovo family to the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow; subsequently returned to the Durovno family. 1918, in Vienna. 1922, in New York. Subsequently in Asuncion, Paraguay [see note 1]. 1930, acquired by the Gebrath family; 1930 until 1988, by descent within the Gebrath family, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro; 1988, sold by the Gebrath family to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 28, 1988)
NOTES:
[1] The provenance information comes from Rüdiger an der Heiden, "Zu neu aufgefundenen Gemälden Hans von Aachens," Pantheon 32, no. 3 (1974): p. 249.
NOTES:
[1] The provenance information comes from Rüdiger an der Heiden, "Zu neu aufgefundenen Gemälden Hans von Aachens," Pantheon 32, no. 3 (1974): p. 249.