Say Grace!

In Greek Mythology i'm told, the daughters of the god Zeus and nymph Eurynome were known as 'the Three Graces. Aglaia, (Splendor) Euphrosyne (Mirth) and Thalia (good cheer). They presided over banquets, dances and all pleasurable social events bringing joy and oodwill to gods and mortals.they were the special attendants of the divinities of love, eros and Aphrodite, and together with their companions the Muses, sang to the gods on Mount Olympus, and danced. some tales tell of Aglaia once being married to Hephaestus the craftsmen of the gods leading to the association between the Graces and the Muses with the arts. Unlike the muses, the three Graces are not treated as individuals, but as a triple enbodiment of grace and beauty.

In art, the three graces are often represented as three lithe maidens transparently dressed.Entwined in dance or stance. Painters generally have represented one of the graces facing away from the viewer, the other two facing the viewer. Treated as an anatomical exercise, the three Graces offer the artist a challenge in anatomy and composition. But symbolically, they can be utilised to represent all manner of concepts.

I am intending to base my next picture on the concept of The Three Graces...currently I am well advanced with my sketches and I'm keen to get to work on the actual picture. I'm not going to do that until I'm happy to do so.

Here a few few examples of the Three Graces ....more tomorrow.