Zeus handing the golden apple to Hermes, above the sleeping figure of Paris 1748 - 1788

Editor: We're looking at "Zeus handing the golden apple to Hermes, above the sleeping figure of Paris," made sometime between 1748 and 1788. It’s currently held at The Met. I’m struck by the ethereal quality of the figures; they almost seem to float against the landscape. What captures your attention in this work? Curator: The sheer theatricality grabs me, doesn’t it you? Look at Zeus perched on his eagle, playing puppet master with the fate of Troy, and Paris, oblivious, enjoying a lovely nap. It’s as if the artist is inviting us to peek behind the curtain of high drama and witness the absurdity of it all. It is baroque at its best, playing with our idea of history, landscape, the divine, all combined in this one engraved moment! But what do you think the artist might be saying by presenting Paris asleep? Editor: Perhaps it's commenting on human ignorance, or maybe even a critique of destiny—like, Paris is so unaware, is his fate truly his own? Curator: Precisely! It could also speak to how beauty itself—symbolized by that golden apple—can lull us into complacency. Have you ever been so taken by something beautiful that you missed the dangers lurking beneath the surface? I feel as though this image suggests a similar thought process about one's perceptions and ultimate undoing. Editor: I like that, the idea of beauty as a distraction. I initially saw it as a straightforward mythological scene, but your reading adds layers of complexity I hadn’t considered. Curator: That's the joy of art, isn't it? A conversation across centuries! I feel like these earlier eras also gave their audiences much to reflect on; hopefully these discussions provide just a fragment of the art's real substance. Editor: Definitely! This conversation gave me a much richer perspective of it. Thanks for opening my eyes.