Studio of Francesco Furini, 'The Three Graces', after 1638
About the work
Overview
Three partially draped nudes, the Three Graces of Antiquity – Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia – seem to be floating on clouds. They were daughters of Zeus and the Three Graces were often associated with pleasure, chastity and beauty.
The composition repeats in reverse a 1638 painting of the same subject by the Italian Baroque artist Francesco Furini, which is now in the Hermitage, St Petersburg. A member of Furini’s studio may have reused the artist’s cartoon (or large-scale preparatory drawing) to create this work.
Furini was one of the leading Florentine painters of the first half of the seventeenth century, known for his sensual female nudes and ’smoky' tonal effects. His interest in classical sculpture is evident in his many mythological and allegorical paintings of the 1620s and 1630s. Although he took his subjects from Antiquity, he reinterpreted them through an intense study of nature and made many life studies, particularly of female nudes.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Three Graces
- Artist
- Studio of Francesco Furini
- Artist dates
- 1603 - 1646
- Date made
- after 1638
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 220 × 175 cm
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Sir Alfred Mond, 1920
- Inventory number
- NG6492
- Location
- Not on display
- Collection
- Main Collection
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the catalogue entry in Christopher Baker and Tom Henry, ‘The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue’, London 2001; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Bibliography
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.