The Judgement of Paris
This conversation is connected to The Judgement of Paris.
The classical myth of Paris choosing the most beautiful goddess is reimagined through a bold, heavily fractured lens. Paris sits in deep shadow on the far left beneath the sweeping branches of a dark blue tree, his back to the viewer as he evaluates three female nudes. The goddesses are constructed with rapid, thick strokes of flesh tones, cool blues, and ochres; one raises her arms, another holds a swathe of bright white fabric, and the third sits resting her head on her hand. Active in Switzerland during the aesthetic upheavals of the early twentieth century, Altherr frequently modernized traditional historical and mythological narratives. Here, he relies on raw, energetic brushwork and stark color contrasts to give the ancient story a striking, psychological weight.