Ernesto Gazzeri, after Antonio Canova

This beautifully carved marble depicts the Three Graces, after Antonio Canova's model in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (inv. no. A.4-1994). Several Italian artists active in the 19th and 20th centuries copied Canova's masterpiece. Ernesto Gazzeri, who signed the present reduction, was born in Florence but active primarily in Rome, where he executed monuments, portraiture, as well as genre sculpture. He travelled widely, leaving works in England, France, the USA and Asia.

Canova’s masterpiece was commissioned in 1812 by the Empress Joséphine de Beauharnais, the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. While depictions of this subject can be traced back to antiquity, Canova’s composition has become so famous that it is now synonymous with the subject.

Canova’s sculpture depicts the three young daughters of Zeus, the king of the Greek Gods. Each daughter personifies a sacred gift to humanity. From left to right, Euphrosyne represents mirth, Aglaia personifies elegance, and Thalia, youth and beauty. The three women face the viewer and gracefully and affectionately embrace each other. The central figure wraps her arms around her sisters, and all three figures are further united by a sinuous piece of cloth, which is entwined with their limbs.