Ignace-Henri-Théodore Fantin-Latour, 'The Judgement of Paris', about 1863

Throughout his career, Henri Fantin-Latour produced images of the classical myths that he loved. Most of them include nude figures. They are in strong contrast to the other popular subjects that made him his living: portraits, such as Mr and Mrs Edwin Edwards, and still lifes, such as A Plate of Apples or Roses. His mythological paintings blend Romanticism with a touch of Symbolism, showing flowing movement of form and texture. As a young man, the Paris Salon refused one of his mythological paintings. Perhaps as a consequence, he preferred them to remain unseen. This sketch was painted in his late twenties as a preparation for The Judgement of Paris. It stayed in his studio until the end of his life.

According to legend, Eris, goddess of strife, sought revenge after being left off the guest list for a divine wedding. Paris, a Trojan prince living as a humble shepherd, had to choose the fairest goddess. The winner would receive a golden apple, engraved with the words ‘To the Most Beautiful’. Three goddesses competed, each offering bribes. Juno, queen of the gods, promised Paris land and riches. Minerva, goddess of wisdom, offered victory in battle. But Venus, goddess of love, tempted him with the most beautiful woman on earth: Helen, queen of Sparta and wife of Menelaus. Unsurprisingly, Paris awarded Venus the golden apple, but at a terrible cost. He later stole Helen from Menelaus. The Trojan War began.

The sketch is difficult to decipher at first glance. One or two figures stand out, painted with swift strokes and touches of bright colour to suggest what the finished picture might look like. Paris sprawls back on the ground, his weight on his left arm, his torso towards us. In his right hand, he holds the golden apple, which he passes over to the broadly sketched figure of a baby. This is Cupid, Venus’s son, often shown with her as her identifying attribute. Right behind him, Venus reclines towards Paris, her arms lifted to show her breasts and remove a long length of pink silk fabric.

In the centre is Juno. She draws back and throws up her arms in shock and anger at her defeat. Also nude from the waist up, her hips are wreathed in an indeterminate fabric, maybe a cloud. Behind Paris, Minerva steps forward draped in a heavy blue mantle, perhaps to cover her nakedness. She stoops a little, her gaze apparently towards Juno, as if exchanging a glance. As goddess of war as well as wisdom, she is doubtless already planning the outcome of the tragic story.

In 1876 Fantin-Latour married Victoria Dubourg, who had been a friend since student days. However, he might previously have had an understanding with her sister. Perhaps Fantin-Latour saw himself as another Paris when choosing between them. More likely, this painting was simply part of an unfinished project. An undated chalk sketch on tracing paper shows a more detailed version of the story in vertical format (Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo). Fantin-Lotour revisited the composition around 1871 in another oil sketch, once owned by Mr and Mrs Edwards in London and recently on sale at Christie’s (Paris, 29 March 2019, lot 257).