Benjamin WestAmerican, 1738–1820Helen Brought to Paris
Can I see it?
Unknown
Where is “Helen Brought to Paris” now? Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Unknown.
Washington, D.C., United States
The owner is known; whether it is on view today is not.
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Helen Brought to Paris is a 1776 neoclassical history painting by the Anglo-American artist Benjamin West. It depicts the Judgement of Paris from Greek Mythology in which Paris selected Aphrodite as the fairest of the three Goddesses. It shows Helen of Troy being brought to Paris by Aphrodite and her son Cupid.
West was a Pennsylvania painter who settled in London in the 1760s and went on to become the president of the Royal Academy. He was known for his history scenes, both from the classical era and more recent settings such as The Death of General Wolfe.
Read on
Parallels have been drawn to the fact that Paris's choice of Helen ultimately led to the Trojan War and the ongoing crisis with regards to the Thirteen Colonies. West had ambivalent feelings about the conflict due to his close relationship to his patron George III and his origins in America. Today the painting is in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C.
In the museum's words
Benjamin West was in a complicated position as painter to King George III. He was an American who had made his reputation with classical scenes painted for English aristocrats and royalty. Yet, in a court ruled by strict etiquette, West and the king had many frank conversations about the tensions brewing in the American colonies. The union of Helen and Paris led to the Trojan war, and the shadow falling over Cupid's face at the center of this painting may reflect West's fear of war between the monarch and his subjects across the Atlantic.
Exhibition Label, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2006
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Details
- Accession number
- 1969.33
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Image: Smithsonian American Art Museum — CC0
