The Three Graces, lifesize

The alluring image of the Three Graces, is one that has captured the hearts of artists and onlookers since the time of its creation. Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia were the three daughters of Zeus and the sea nymph Euronyme, as well as the handmaidens of Venus and companions of Apollo. Respectively, they represented elegance, mirth and youth, and beauty. They were often seen in mythology and art presiding over banquets, dances, and pleasurable social events, and brought joy and goodwill to both gods and mortals.

The origins of the sculpted group lies in 4th century BC Greek sculpture where the virtuoso sculptor Praxiteles is believed to have modified one of his iconic marble Venuses and replicated her two further times. The theme continued through the Hellenistic period, as in all the antique interpretations of Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia, the three sisters are depicted as two (Aglaia and Euphrosyne) facing frontally while the central figure (Thalia) faces away. This would have served, in part, to be mildly erotic while also being a clever and dynamic compositional idea. In this stance they would have been seen as part of a decorative scheme in a villa or sculpture gallery with the aim of promoting joy, fortitude and love.

In 1812, the prolific neo-classical sculptor Antonio Canova modified the composition and distanced his composition from the antique prototypes by twisting the central figure, so that she would face the onlooker, and by drawing the sisters closer together, in a warmer and more seductive embrace. Antonio Canova's first group of The Three Graces was commissioned by Empress Josephine in 1812. The marble was completed after her death in 1816 and taken to Monaco by her son, Eugène de Beauharnais. On the latter's death in 1824, the group became the property of the Duke of Leuchtenburg and was transported to St. Petersburg, where it is now kept in the Hermitage. In 1815, John Russell, the 6th Duke of Bedford, commissioned a second version of The Three Graces from Canova. The marble was completed in 1817 and installed in Woburn Abbey two years later. It was acquired in 1994 jointly by the V&A, London, and the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh. This second version of the group is slightly smaller and varies in some details, primarily the rectangular pedestal behind the maidens, which is transformed into a round column. Thus, the present lot, is after Canova's second version. Of Canova's autograph versions, either in marble or plaster, four are recorded. However other studios throughout Italy continued to produce finely carved examples, like the present lot throughout the 19th and into the 20th century.