Here, the God of Love, Cupid (11) gazes at three earthly maidens aged between roughly 12 and 18 years old. While the youngest is tying her sandals (12), the next oldest is letting a spindle run down (13), while the oldest is releasing a bird from her care (14).
Three young women in the form of the Graces or Goddesses of Fate, were popular mythological themes for artists. The motif was executed by the sculptor Antonio Canova as a plaster relief (15), presumably around 1810, and as a relief in reddish marble: Three dancing Graces, who are crowning Venus with flowers, are watched by seated Mars. He is holding an unfinished floral wreath in his hands. The relief, now lost, found its way to Berlin after 1815 as a gift of Pope Pius VII. Friedrich Wilhelm III placed it in the Royal Palace. It was later transferred to the Hohenzollern Museum. It is possible that Schadow saw Canova’s design and that it provide the inspiration for his figures. He would clearly have been familiar with Canova and Thorvaldsen’s elaborate figure groups of the Three Graces.
Above all, Schadow’s success as a sculptor was built on the popularity of the three female figures. His idea of arranging them in an ensemble together with Cupid remained unrealized due to his premature death.
Silva van der Heyden, Silke Kiesant
