/internal/media/dispatcher/51186/fullThe Judgment of Paris1885-1887[Max Klinger]Max KlingerOil on canvas, framing in wood and plaster The goddesses Venus, Athena, and Hera approach the shepherd Paris without a hint of bashfulness. They present their bodies and gaze steadily at Paris and Hermes, the messenger of the gods. Hermes takes it all in his stride, pausing for a moment in a self-absorbed athletic pose. Paris, on the other hand, seems to recoil from such an obvious display of femininity—just like the male audience around 1900. Most men were left feeling “absolutely alien and uncomprehending” when faced with this painting, as the work’s first owner Alexander Hummel wrote, whereas it was genuinely admired by women. Klinger showed the goddesses exuding self-confidence rather than in lascivious poses. And confronted with so much self-assurance, the male world simply had to capitulate. Paintinghttps://sammlungtest.belvedere.at/objects/6167/rdf