On Monday 13 September the restoration was commenced of the plaster model of the Three Graces, one of the most important sculptures of Antonio Canova. The model is housed in the Museo Gipsoteca, Canova's former home and studio in Possagno.
 
Canova made the original plaster model in 1813 in just two months, between June and August. It was his idea of absolute beauty. The restoration of the model will check the condition of the piece which has already been xrayed to show the metal armature that supports the structure of the group. A new support will be introduced to the heel of the central figure which has been weakened by the weights of the three figures. All the points used by the sculptor for the translation of the model in marble will be checked.
 
Canova produced two marble versions of the famous sculpture of the Three Graces. One in grey veined marble for Empress Josephine, which is now in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, and one carved from a single block of white carrara statuary marble, for John Russell, sixth Duke of Bedford, which was installed personally by Canova in Woburn Abbey where it remained until 1995 when it was bought by the Victoria & Albert Museum and National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh.
 
John Russell, the 6th Duke of Bedford, commissioned his version after visiting Canova in his studio in Rome in 1814 and having been immensely impressed by his carving of the Three Graces the sculptor had made for the Empress Josephine. When the Empress died in May of the same year John Russell offered to purchase the completed piece, but was unsuccessful as Josephine's son Eugène claimed it, and his son Maximilian brought it to St. Petersburg. 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 supervised by Canova who made the trip to England to supervise its installation, choosing for it to be displayed on a pedestal adapted from a marble plinth with a rotating top.
 
The version in the Hermitage has a square pillar behind the left-hand figure of Euphorosyne. The Woburn Abbey group has a round pillar, and the central figure Aglaea has a slightly broader waist.
 
By the time of the Duke of Bedford's commission, Canova was already established as a prominent Italian sculptor. 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, to whom he was apprenticed for two years.
 
The progress of the restoration work can be seen by visitors during the museum's opening hours between 0930 and 1800.
 
Fondazione Canova
Via Canova 74
31054 Possagno TV
Tel +39 (0) 423544323
Fax +39 (0) 423 922007
 
The Graces in ancient mythology
The Three Graces, celebrated in classical literature and art, were the daughters of Jupiter (or Zeus in Greek mythology), and companions to the Muses. Thalia (youth and beauty) is accompanied by Euphrosyne (mirth), and Aglaia (elegance).