Three Graces
by CORREGGIO, Fresco
The picture shows a detail of the ceiling of the Camera di San Paolo.
The Three Graces, a classical theme that became popular in the Renaissance, was based upon Roman sculptures of the subject, including a well-known group that survived in Siena. It was rendered in reliefs and paintings, including the small picture by Raphael. Correggio’s approach is loose and while the figures are intended to represent marble, they reveal soft flesh that is nothing like cold stone, and their proportions are full almost to the point of exaggeration.