AFTER ANTONIO CANOVA (ITALIAN, 1757-1822)

This cast after Antonio Canova's magnum opus The Three Graces, depicts the nymphs Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia, the three daughters of Zeus who were often associated with the goddess of love, Aphrodite. Respectively, they represented elegance, mirth and youth, and beauty as well as the three phases of love: Beauty, arousing Desire, leading to Fulfilment.
Canova's composition was inspired by the Antique model where the figures of Aglaia and Euphrosyne face forwards, while the central figure, Thalia, faces away. However, upon receiving a commission from Empress Josephine de Beauharnais in 1812, the prolific neo-classical sculptor Antonio Canova modified the composition and created, as Stendhal commented un nuovo tipo de bellezza (M. Praz, L'opera completa del Canova, Milan, 1976, no. 270), by twisting the central figure so that she would face the onlooker, and by drawing the sisters closer together, in a warmer, intimate, and arguably more seductive embrace.