Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun - Juno borrowing the belt of Venus

• Title: Juno borrowing the belt of Venus
• Artist: Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842)
• Date: 1781
• Medium: Oil on canvas
• Dimensions: 147 x 114 cm

"Juno borrowing the belt of Venus" is based on an episode of the Iliad, during the siege of Troy in Asia Minor by a coalition of Greek city states. The initial cause of the war was the abduction of Helen – wife of Menelaus, king of Sparta, and sister-in-law of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae – by Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy.

Juno, who was Jupiter’s sister as well as his wife and therefore queen of the Olympian gods, had a fierce hatred of Troy because Paris had humiliated her by preferring Venus, mother of Cupid, in a beauty contest. Juno meant to take revenge by ensuring a Greek victory.

But Troy and its mortal inhabitants were protected by the all-powerful Jupiter. To sway Jupiter, Juno felt she needed to rekindle her unfaithful husband’s love and so she asked Venus to lend her a multi-coloured belt woven from threads of desire and passion. Juno felt sure that if she wore this enchanted article, Jupiter would not be able to resist her and would abandon the Trojans.

There are three figures in the painting, with Cupid playing a part, amusing himself by playing with the belt, which has already been relinquished to the Queen of Olympus and staring at the viewer, as if asking the viewer whether he should let go of the belt or try to hold on to it.