Sketch for “Judgement of Paris”

This 1892 sketch for the Judgement of Paris, held in the National Museum in Warsaw, is preparatory to one of Siemiradzki's classical mythological compositions. The Judgement of Paris — the Trojan prince asked to choose the most beautiful goddess among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite — was a canonical subject of European academic painting, offering the opportunity for a staged triple female nude with mythological justification. Siemiradzki treated it with characteristic attention to archaeological plausibility: the setting, costuming, and figure types drawn from classical sources rather than Renaissance or Baroque convention. The 1892 date places it alongside the Allegory of Music sketch and the finished Judgement of Paris canvas, suggesting a particularly productive period of mythological composition. The Warsaw sketch allows comparison with the finished work to assess how Siemiradzki revised his initial proposals.

Oil on canvas, executed with the assurance of a mature preparatory study. The three goddess figures are already placed in relation to Paris and the messenger Hermes, their contrasting physical types and attributes suggested even at this summary stage. The landscape setting and warm Trojan light are indicated in the background. The sketch concentrates resolution in the faces and postures of the central figures, where the compositional decisions most needed to be tested.