oil on canvas, 82 x 73 cm
Venice, Gallerie dell´Accademia
Giorgione and his followers have repeatedly depicted stories from the youth of Paris, the son of the King of Troy. Giorgione depicts the moment when Paris takes his leave from the nymph, Oinone, and their child, Korythos. The royal shepherd is leaving his wife and child in the mountains for the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen the Queen of Sparta, who was promised to him by Aphrodite. This was to lead to the Trojan War, during which Paris, as well as Oinone and their son, perished. The approaching storm with bolts of lightening and the small monument with broken columns allude to the terrible fate in store both for Troy and the three people depicted here.
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