Three Graces
Artist: Antonio Canova
Year Composed: 1815
Artistic Movement: Neoclassicism
Nationality: Italy
Floor Found in Château: Second Garden
Year Composed: 1815
Artistic Movement: Neoclassicism
Nationality: Italy
Floor Found in Château: Second Garden
About the Artwork
Antonio Canova's Three Graces represent the three charites, daughters of Zeus: Euphrosyne, Aglaea, and Thalia. The three are visual personifications of beauty, mirth (or amusement), and elegance. Together, they were able to bring joy and comfort to the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses. Canova moved away from the prior Baroque aesthetic of providing a singular moment in time within a sculpture (such as the works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini). Instead, Canova's Three Graces are meant to portray their beauty, mirth, and elegance rather than a specified moment in time. They are sculpted to be viewed without a single moment in mind, but are, instead, everlasting throughout time.
About the Artist
Canova was born in the Republic of Venice during the middle of the 1700s, and ended up becoming the premiere Neoclassical sculptor in Italy. Inspired by sculptors of the Baroque such as Bernini and Cortona, Canova did not implement the same ornate and dramatic aesthetics within his art. Instead, he wanted viewers to look at the ancient beauty that was once Rome and its Classical sculptures. The inspiration to highlight that true beauty of Roman antiquity can be seen within his mythological marble sculptures, including his Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (1787), Venus Victrix (1805-1808), and The Three Graces (1814-1817).
About the Movement
Three Graces was composed in the Neoclassicism Age of art. Neoclassical art drew its inspiration from the Classical Age and through Greco-Roman antiquity. It came about in Europe to counter the ornate and decorative Rococo style. Neoclassical elements were based more on the simple and the serene, letting viewers admire the beauty of the figures and scene within the artwork rather than a narrative or intricate detail. Some of the most famous Neoclassicism artist included Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Antonio Canova, and Johan Tobias Sergel.
Location of Original Work of Art: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Antonio Canova's Three Graces represent the three charites, daughters of Zeus: Euphrosyne, Aglaea, and Thalia. The three are visual personifications of beauty, mirth (or amusement), and elegance. Together, they were able to bring joy and comfort to the Greco-Roman gods and goddesses. Canova moved away from the prior Baroque aesthetic of providing a singular moment in time within a sculpture (such as the works by Gian Lorenzo Bernini). Instead, Canova's Three Graces are meant to portray their beauty, mirth, and elegance rather than a specified moment in time. They are sculpted to be viewed without a single moment in mind, but are, instead, everlasting throughout time.
About the Artist
Canova was born in the Republic of Venice during the middle of the 1700s, and ended up becoming the premiere Neoclassical sculptor in Italy. Inspired by sculptors of the Baroque such as Bernini and Cortona, Canova did not implement the same ornate and dramatic aesthetics within his art. Instead, he wanted viewers to look at the ancient beauty that was once Rome and its Classical sculptures. The inspiration to highlight that true beauty of Roman antiquity can be seen within his mythological marble sculptures, including his Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (1787), Venus Victrix (1805-1808), and The Three Graces (1814-1817).
About the Movement
Three Graces was composed in the Neoclassicism Age of art. Neoclassical art drew its inspiration from the Classical Age and through Greco-Roman antiquity. It came about in Europe to counter the ornate and decorative Rococo style. Neoclassical elements were based more on the simple and the serene, letting viewers admire the beauty of the figures and scene within the artwork rather than a narrative or intricate detail. Some of the most famous Neoclassicism artist included Jacques-Louis David, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Antonio Canova, and Johan Tobias Sergel.
Location of Original Work of Art: Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia