The Grazie and Venus dance before Mars

Tempera painting, 1798?
Current placing: hall at Canova’s, cm 25x39

This is one of the loveliest and most significant pictures. Canova painted it at Possagno where he devoted himself to painting because of the lack of marble. The Grazie are the Muses and Apollo’s friends, Venus is the goddess of beauty and love. Mars is peacefully sitting on the right. The dance of the three goddesses as well as the music of Venus distract him from the war. Several puttos with torches and garlands animate the scene. In many of these tempera paintings the feminine characters are represented as lively, loving, ethereal with lovely figures wearing fine and transparent veils.