- Artist
- Sir Joshua Reynolds 1723–1792
- Medium
- Oil paint on canvas
- Dimensions
- Support: 2337 × 2908 mm
frame: 2902 × 3382 × 180 mm - Collection
- Tate
- Acquisition
- Bequeathed by the Earl of Blessington 1837
- Reference
- N00079
Display caption
Joshua Reynolds paints the aristocratic Montgomery sisters, Barbara, Elizabeth and Anne, decorating a classical sculpture with flowers. Their poses associate them with the mythological Graces, personifying charm, grace and beauty. This emphasises the sisters’ beauty and elegance and may also playfully allude to their fame as ‘The Irish Graces’. By including the statue of Hymen, the Greek god of marriage and fertility, Reynolds also celebrates their desirability for marriage. Reynolds exhibited this painting in 1774. It exemplifies his ‘grand style’ of portraiture, which drew inspiration from classical and Renaissance art, and favoured idealised elements rather than current or specific fashions. The painting prompted one art critic to praise Reynolds’ ‘great Richness of Imagination’.
Gallery label, February 2024
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