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' The Three Graces' Antonio Canova ( Italian 1757-1822) Marble circa 1813-1816.
This lovely sculpture depicts three sisters in an embrace . They are (from the left ) Aglaia , the Goddess of Splendour ; Euphrosyne , Goddess of Festivity ; and Thalia Goddess of Rejoicing ; and they are the beautiful daughters of Jupiter and Aegle . Handmaidens to Venus , Goddess of Love . They represent gracefulness , peace and happiness , but they were also an ancient symbol of liberality .
Standing close together , the only covering they wear is a delicately placed drape. The Three Graces are traditionally shown with the sister in the middle facing backwards , but Canova has them facing the same way , leaning in towards each other .
Antonio Canova , the son of a stonemason was born in Italy in 1757 . When his mother remarried in 1762 , after his father's death he was sent to live with his grandfather , also a stonemason and sculptor . His enormous talent recognised , he was apprenticed to a sculptor named Giuseppe Bernardi , and moved to Venice . By the time he was 18 he had opened his first studio and in 1780 he moved to Rome where he settled . His style comes from the close study and understanding of ancient Roman sculptors .
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