Jacopo Confortini (Florence, 1602 – 1672), Judgement of Paris

Jacopo Confortini (Florence, 1602 – 1672)

Judgment of Paris

Oil on canvas, 37 x 40 cm

With frame, 54 x 56,5 cm

The canvas in question belongs to the oeuvre of the Florentine painter and cleric Jacopo Confortini (Florence, 1602–1672). Born in Florence in 1602, he came from a family of artists: his father, Matteo di Benedetto da Pisa, and his brother, Piero, were both painters. His artistic training likely began within his family, and then continued in the workshops of established masters such as Giovanni Bilivert and Matteo Rosselli. His most significant encounter, however, was with Giovanni da San Giovanni, an eclectic and highly talented artist who significantly influenced his style. Between 1621 and 1624, Confortini participated in the decoration of the Casino Mediceo di San Marco, an important commission that allowed him to gain recognition among the great artists and patrons of the time. In 1628, at the age of twenty-six, he was admitted to the Accademia del Disegno in Florence, completing one of his first independent works the following year, the Madonna of the Rosary with Saints Dominic and Francis. In 1631, he painted two frescoes for the refectory of the Florentine convent of Santa Trinità, The Wedding at Cana and Christ in the House of Simon, works still considered among his masterpieces. Documents relating to this commission mention him as "Frate Confortini," suggesting that he had taken religious orders, which would explain his withdrawal from the artistic scene and his production of predominantly religious works. He died in Florence in 1672.

Although Confortini favored sacred subjects, he also created some mythological works, making the latter particularly rare and valuable. The canvas presented here, for example, depicts The Judgement of Paris, considered in Greek mythology to be one of the causes of the Trojan War. According to legend, Zeus hosted a banquet to celebrate the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, the future parents of Achilles. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited and, angered by this outrage, approached the banquet site throwing a golden apple addressed "to the most beautiful." The three goddesses who claimed it were Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. The father of the gods, not knowing to whom to give it, decreed that the decision should be made by Paris, prince of Troy, the most handsome of mortals. Athena made him wise and unbeatable in war, Hera made him rich and powerful, while Aphrodite, the future victor, granted him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, helping him kidnap Helen, wife of Menelaus, King of Sparta, the casus belli of the Trojan War. Confortini's figures are characterized by refined poses and a certain softness of volume, elements accompanied by a use of vibrant colors and plays of light that play a fundamental role, creating strong contrasts that enhance the painting. His style is characterized by compositional refinement and a great attention to the chromatic and plastic rendering of the drapery, as well as a careful attention to the expressiveness of the characters and the surrounding setting. His works demonstrate a remarkable skill in the use of light and a certain vivacity of detail. His technical mastery is best expressed in his drawings, many of which remain in important collections today. Confortini's graphic oeuvre, rich in sketches and studies, reveals a rapid and lively style, combined with a narrative acumen that often includes ironic touches. This part of his production has been the subject of recent studies, which have helped redefine his role in the artistic landscape of seventeenth-century Florence. His work remains a significant example of seventeenth-century Tuscan painting, a bridge between the Mannerist tradition and the new trends of the Baroque.