Attributed to Baron Jean-Baptiste REGNAULT (Paris 1754 - 1829) The Three Graces Black stone, shading and white chalk highlights (Glued in full on an old mount) 56.5 x 41 cm Provenance : - Probably former Mühlbacher collection; - Sa vente, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris,17 mai 1899, n° 240.this drawing is related to the famous painting in the Louvre, painted in 1793-94. The position of the muse's arm and torso on the left has been changed. There is another drawing of the group that has been sold several times (see for the latest: Sotheby's, New-York, January 26, 2011, no. 662, reproduced). Also large in size, this one concentrates on the contours, while the shadows are cross-hatched. The woman's hand on the right rests on her thigh. A line sketch is also preserved in the Louvre (RF 29248). Finally, a drawing of this subject was presented at Regnault's after-death sale (Paris, March 1-5, 1830).it would seem that Regnault painted Les Trois Grâces to show a less radical path in antique inspiration than David's severe style in Les Sabines. Regnault used professional models for the nudes in his paintings, but his habit was to give the features of his female pupils to the faces. Regnault was familiar with Raphaël's small composition (Musée de Chantilly) based on the antique in the Piccolomini Library (Duomo, Siena). A fine group of Three Graces from the Borghese collection entered the Louvre in 1807. The mythological subject dates back to antiquity. The Greeks called them Charites. It was Hesiod who brought their number to three. In the ancient city of Minyens, they were worshipped as water divinities in the river Cephise, as Pindar recalls. Daughters of Zeus and Eurynomé (daughter of Ocean and Thetis), they are called Aglaé, Euphrosyne and Thalie. They are honored respectively as the goddesses of beauty or splendor, charm and gaiety, abundance and creativity. With the Romans, they became known as the Graces. Thalie came to symbolize the Muse of Theatre in traditional iconography.