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Lot Essay
The three graces - identified as Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia by Hesiod in c. 700 BC - were first grouped in antiquity so that the two outer figures face the spectator, whilst the central figure faced away. This form was much copied in the Renaissance, by artists including Sandro Botticelli and Raphael, and Canova's realisation of the subject in marble was his masterpiece and perhaps the work most representative of the neoclassical taste in art.
Canova first completed a version of the Three Graces for the Empress Josephine. The 6th Duke of Bedford saw the completed marble (now in The Hermitage) in 1814 in Canova's studio and was so enamored by it that he commissioned Canova to create another version, after his attempt to buy the first version was declined. This second version was completed in 1817 and in 1819 Canova came over to England to help install the statue at Woburn Abbey, where it stood in the sculpture gallery until it was purchased jointly by the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Gallery of Scotland in 1994.
The present marble is a copy after the Bedford version. For the Bedford version, Canova rejected the rectangular altar of his first version in favour of a low column, whilst also making slight modifications to the base and space accorded to the central figure. Canova clearly preferred the Bedford marble, and had the copper plates of the prints he had made of the first version altered to recognise the changes that he had made. The popularity of the composition ensured that many copies were made in marble during the remainder of the 19th century, with the present example distinguished by its delicate details and proportions.
Canova first completed a version of the Three Graces for the Empress Josephine. The 6th Duke of Bedford saw the completed marble (now in The Hermitage) in 1814 in Canova's studio and was so enamored by it that he commissioned Canova to create another version, after his attempt to buy the first version was declined. This second version was completed in 1817 and in 1819 Canova came over to England to help install the statue at Woburn Abbey, where it stood in the sculpture gallery until it was purchased jointly by the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Gallery of Scotland in 1994.
The present marble is a copy after the Bedford version. For the Bedford version, Canova rejected the rectangular altar of his first version in favour of a low column, whilst also making slight modifications to the base and space accorded to the central figure. Canova clearly preferred the Bedford marble, and had the copper plates of the prints he had made of the first version altered to recognise the changes that he had made. The popularity of the composition ensured that many copies were made in marble during the remainder of the 19th century, with the present example distinguished by its delicate details and proportions.