"Peter Paul Rubens was born the 28th of June of 1577 in Siegen, Westphalia, Germany, and he died the 30th of May of 1640. He was a Baroque painter from the Flemish school. Rubens quickly knows what he wants to be when he grows up: a history painter. He goes to Latin school and works as a page from the Countess Ligne. He is known for his exuberant style that emphasized color and dynamism, and he produced over 2,000 works. He was a Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist for the Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens was a painter producing altarpieces, portraits, landscapes and history paintings of mythological and allegorical subjects. He was one of the last major artists to make consistent use of wooden panels as a support medium, even for very large works, but used canvas as well, especially when the works need to be sent a long distance. For altarpieces he sometimes painted on slate to reduce reflection problems. And now I'm going to talk about characteristics of the work. It's a large oil painting on a wooden panel. Rubens shows the moment when Paris has to choose between the three goddesses. Rubens used lively brushstrokes, strong light and shadow, and warm colors like red and gold to give the scene movement and a rich sensual feeling. The women are painted with the rounded full shapes typical of his style. Cupid, Mercury and a soft landscape also appear in the background. Overall, the painting focused on themes of beauty, desire, temptation and judgment, working both as a decoration and as a retelling of a famous myth. Okay, now continuing with the context. The painting illustrates the famous mythological scene known as the Judgment of Paris. Paris, a Trojan prince raised as a shepherd, he must choose the most beautiful goddess among Venus, Juno and Minerva. The painting shows the three goddesses standing together; however, they are shown without clothes or very little clothing, which was common in mythological art. Furthermore, we can see Paris, that is a young man, shown on the left side, and he has a small dog next to him. Also, there is a small Cupid, a little angel, near the goddess Venus. Talking about the background, it has a soft, green landscape with clouds and warm light. The whole picture feels very dramatic and full of movement, which is a typical feature for the Baroque style. This work was painted in Antwerp, located in the Flemish region of Belgium, where Rubens maintained a large and highly productive workshop. By the late 1630s, Rubens was already in semi-retirement, yet he continued to produce large-scale mythological paintings ordered by the Spanish court. The version of the Museo del Prado was created around 1638 and 1639, just one or two years before Rubens' death in 1640. As a result, it was considered one of his late mythological masterpieces, reflecting a warm, more sexual and more monumental style. The painting was commissioned by the King Philip IV of Spain as a part of a decorative cycle of mythological works."