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1 of 253523 objects
The Three Graces c.1670-80
Oil on canvas | 140.1 x 173.3 x 7.5 cm (frame, external) | RCIN 405704
Pietro Liberi (Padua 1614-Venice 1687)
The Three Graces c.1670-80
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Amid the clouds, the three Graces hold hands. Two are facing outwards; the central figure is seated in the foreground and is seen from the back. The three Graces were the handmaidens of Venus, and a typical grouping of them, as seen here, derives from antique prototypes. The Graces are framed by billowing drapery and accompanied by two cupids - the right-hand Grace has apparently disarmed the cupid below of his arrow.
Like other works by Liberi in the royal collection, this painting demonstrates the influence of Titian. The pose of the seated Grace seems partially to recall that of the seated nymph in Titian's Diana and Callisto (National Gallery and National Galleries of Scotland). The subject was painted more than once by Liberi; pictures of the Three Graces by him are recorded in several collections in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.Provenance
Acquired in 1762 by George III from Joseph Smith, British Consul in Venice, as a pair with RCIN 405705, described as 'Graces semi-nudities in clouds' (Italian List nos 274-5); both pictures are recorded in the Great Room of the Library at Buckingham Palace in 1790
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Medium and techniques
Oil on canvas
Measurements
140.1 x 173.3 x 7.5 cm (frame, external)
119.5 x 151.4 cm (support, canvas/panel/stretcher external)
Category
Object type(s)
Other number(s)
Alternative title(s)
Three nymphs, previously entitled