Where Is The Three Graces? See It at This Museum

Antonio Canova carved two versions of The Three Graces. The first (1814-17) is at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The second (1815-17) was jointly purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland, alternating display between London and Edinburgh.

The three figures, Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia, stand in an embrace, their bodies intertwined. Canova polished the marble to a near-translucent glow and applied a light wax finish to give it a warm, skin-like quality. The group exemplifies Neoclassical ideals: classical subject, restrained emotion, and flawless surface. It's one of the most reproduced sculptures of the 19th century.

Two versions exist. The first is at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. The second alternates between the V&A in London and the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh, jointly purchased for £7.6 million in 1994.

In 1989, the Getty Museum offered $12.3 million for it. The British government blocked the export license. After a years-long battle, the V&A and National Galleries of Scotland jointly bought it, partly funded by John Paul Getty II himself.

The first version was commissioned by Empress Josephine (Napoleon's first wife), who died in 1814 before it was finished. The second was made for the Duke of Bedford, who displayed it in a purpose-built rotunda at Woburn Abbey.

Canova designed it on a rotating plinth so viewers could walk around and see constantly changing silhouettes. He personally advised on lighting and positioning. The white marble is polished to an extraordinary smoothness.

The Three Graces

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