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Antonio Canova’s statue ''The Three Graces'' is a Neoclassical sculpture, in marble, of the mythological three charites, daughters of Zeus – identified on some engravings of the statue as, from left to right, Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia - who were said to represent beauty, charm and joy. The Graces presided over banquets and gatherings primarily to entertain and delight the guests of the gods. As such they have always proved to be attractive figures for historical artists including Sandro Botticelli and Bertel Thorvaldsen. A version of the sculpture is to be found in the Hermitage Museum); another is owned jointly and exhibited in turn by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland. ==Versions of the piece== John Russell, the 6th Duke of Bedford, commissioned a version of the now famous work.〔(The Three Graces. ) Victoria & Albert Museum, 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.〕 He had previously visited Canova in his studio in Rome in 1814 and had been immensely impressed by a carving of the Graces the sculptor had made for the Empress Josephine. When the Empress died in May of the same year he immediately offered to purchase the completed piece, but was unsuccessful as Josephine’s son Eugène claimed it (his son Maximilian brought it to St. Petersburg, where it can now be found in the Hermitage Museum). Undeterred, the Duke commissioned another version for himself. The sculpting process began in 1814 and was completed in 1817. Finally in 1819 it was installed at the Duke’s residence in Woburn Abbey. Canova even made the trip over to England to supervise its installation, choosing for it to be displayed on a pedestal adapted from a marble plinth with a rotating top. This version is now owned jointly by the Victoria and Albert Museum and the National Galleries of Scotland, and is alternately displayed at each. The version in the Hermitage is carved from veined marble and has a square pillar behind the left-hand figure (Euphrosyne). The Woburn Abbey version is carved from white marble and has a round pillar, and the central figure (Aglaea) has a slightly broader waist. By the time he had been commissioned by the Duke, Canova had already enjoyed an illustrious sculpting career. Born in the Italian province of Treviso in 1757, he was educated by his grandfather and his artistic talent was quickly noticed, especially by a Senator by the name of Giovanni Falieri who introduced him to the sculptor Torretto, who he would apprentice for two years. Canova went on to enjoy small commissions, but his fame did not come until 1780 when he travelled to Rome and found himself inspired and invigorated by the scope and quality of the art and architecture. During this time Canova produced some of his most revered works including: "Theseus and the Minotaur" (1782), his monument to Pope Clement XIV (now displayed in the basilica dei Santi Apostoli) and the masterminding of the sumptuous tomb of Clement XIII in St. Peter’s. In 1793 he produced the seminal ''Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss'', a piece of immaculate composition and flowing beauty. In 1802, he was requested to go to Paris by Napoleon I where he modelled an enormous figure of the emperor clutching a ‘Victory’ in his hand. He would also model a bust of the French leader as well as a statue of his mother. The fact that these pieces represented only a fraction of his works during this period, make his dual commissions to sculpt the Graces understandable. The sculpture for the Duke of Bedford was based on depictions of the Graces Canova had previously made. These include a painting in 1799, other drawings and a relief of the Graces is also known to have been executed by him around the same time. In 1810, he modelled a terracotta sketch (now in the Musée de Lyon, France). But it is likely that his piece for the Empress Josephine and later the Duke was modelled mainly on the early drawings and a terracotta sketch model. Certainly we know that the immediate model for the work was a full-scale plaster group that has survived and is now to be found in the Canova museum in Possagno, Italy. In the version presented to the Duke of Bedford the graces are shown to be leaning on a pillar, though in earlier versions this feature was absent. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Three Graces (sculpture)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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