Pallas Athena, Venus and Juno
Hans von Aachen
(German (Cologne) 1552–1615)
1593
Medium/TechniqueOil on canvas
Dimensions54 x 67 cm (21 1/4 x 26 3/8 in.)
Credit LineJuliana Cheney Edwards Collection
Accession number1988.345
On View
On viewClassificationsPaintings
Collections
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 1593Provenance1872, 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.
Hans von Wertinger
Georg von Hoesslin
Sir Hubert von Herkomer
Alfred von Wierusz-Kowalski
Hans Memling
