1814-1817

Canova's group represents the three daughters of the Roman god Jupiter, the handmaidens of the godess Venus. It was carved for John, 6th Duke of Bedford, and placed at one end of the sculpture gallery at Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire. Canova was the one modern sculptor whose work was thought to equal that of the ancients.

Marble

Carved in Rome by Antonio Canova
(born in Possagno, near Treviso, Italy, 1757,
died in Venice, Italy, 1822).

V&A

As I walk in to see them, I say in a low voice, " Hello Gals".
The last time I visited them I sat for nearly an hour trying to envisage how they had been carved from a solid block of stone. Wonderful. CB
Cropped in PS.