Peter Paul Rubens, Siegen 1577 - 1640 Antwerp, Workshop

Peter Paul Rubens

Siegen 1577 - 1640 Antwerp

Workshop

Follower

"Three Graces"

17./18. century

Oil on canvas

124 x 104 cm, with frame 136 x 120 cm



This important painting is a high-quality repetition of a work by Peter Paul Rubens from 1620-24 (Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, inv. no. GG-646). The extremely popular mythological pictorial theme refers to the Three Graces (Latin gratiae) named Euphrosyne ("Joyful"), Thalia ("Blooming") and Aglaia ("Radiant"). The Charites bring joy of life to people and are also associated with generosity. Already in ancient Pompeii, the three daughters of Zeus were depicted as embracing one other. Important versions exist by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1482/87), Raphael (1504/05) and Lucas Cranach the Elder (1530). Rubens painted numerous variants of the same subject, although the version that is now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid (c. 1630-35; Room 029) was in his personal collection until the artist's death.



The painter locates the three goddesses in nature, framed by two tree trunks carrying a cloth as a curtain motif, with an idyllic lake or pond behind them as a vista. In a playful manner, the women stretch out their naked bodies, clad only in gauzy, transparent strips of fabric, which seem almost to be intertwined, to hold a large basket of flowers towards the sky. The nudes are staged in a particularly varied way: The left figure is shown in profile, the middle figure in three-quarter view, and the right figure in back view. The Graces also have different hair colours and wear different hairstyles. Their stance on the ball of their foot suggests a dynamic turn and forward movement, while the women's gaze is focused upwards. The overflowing flower basket is filled with roses in full bloom, reflecting the splendour of the Graces. Here the artist strove for an overall effect of movement and charm, further framed by white and pink roses in the foreground and to the right, in various stages of bloom.



In contrast to the painting in the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, the bodies are more delicately and softly modelled, while the surface, as a whole, reflects a richer and warmer tone. Arguably one of Rubens' favourite subjects, this high-quality painting is also executed with precision and a careful eye for detail.