The Three Graces – Sculpture in La Serena
Work
The Three Graces
Author
Antonio Canova
Year
1813–1816
3D Digitization Process
This work does not have an interactive 3D model yet. We are working on its registration and digitization for the virtual museum.
Work narrative
History
The sculpture represents Thalia, Euphrosyne and Aglaia, the Three Graces of Classical mythology, associated with beauty, joy and the bonds of affection. The three figures turn towards one another and join in a close embrace, making their shared gesture the central subject of the composition.
Antonio Canova devised this arrangement in the early nineteenth century, departing from the traditional ancient formula in which the central Grace was commonly shown with her back to the viewer. In Canova's composition the three figures face and enfold one another; their interlaced arms, converging gazes and shared drapery form a compact group intended to be viewed from multiple angles.
Canova's first marble version was made between 1813 and 1816 and is preserved in the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg under inventory number Н.ск-506. A second version, commissioned by the Duke and Duchess of Bedford and completed in 1817, is jointly owned by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland. The La Serena sculpture follows the composition of the Hermitage version, as recorded in the historical catalogue reproduced in Gabriel González Videla's memoirs.
That catalogue describes the local sculpture as a 1.73-metre, 900-kilogram work in Carrara marble by Italo Simi, acquired from his workshop in Pietrasanta di Lucca for the open-air museum created under Plan Serena. The selection of European sculptures was entrusted to Chilean ambassador Raúl Irarrázaval, advised by Antonio Rodríguez.
The consulted documentation does not establish the exact carving date, identify Simi's assistants or describe the reproduction process.
Work record
Technical Data
AUTHOR
Antonio Canova (model); Italo Simi (La Serena reproduction)
CHRONOLOGY
Marble reproduction acquired during Plan Serena (1948–1952), exact carving date undocumented; original model, 1813–1816
MATERIALITY
Carrara marble.
TECHNIQUE
Marble carving; reproduction process undocumented
MOVEMENT
Neoclassicism (reproduction of a model by Antonio Canova)
WORK DESCRIPTION
Free-standing group in Carrara marble composed of three nude female figures standing close together. Their bodies form a compact, rounded arrangement, while their inclined heads and converging gazes concentrate attention at the centre of the group.
The figures embrace one another through a continuous network of arms and hands placed across shoulders, backs and waists. A carved drapery crosses the lower part of the composition and links the figures to a cylindrical support positioned behind them. The different orientations of the torsos and faces invite the sculpture to be viewed from more than one side.
The available photograph of the La Serena sculpture shows losses and repairs on the marble surface, together with extensive traces of red paint across the heads, torsos, arms and drapery. These alterations affect the current reading of the work but do not obscure the principal features of Canova's composition.