The Three Graces

The Three Graces

Title

The Three Graces

[NAMA online database, accessed 23.12.2020]

Painting on beech wood

Medium

Painting on beech wood

[Klein, Report 2003]

The Three Graces or Charities are shown standing against a dark backdrop on a light ground. The central figure is shown in a frontal view and points upwards. In contrast the lady on her right has turned her back to the viewer. Only the lady to the left of the

The Three Graces or Charities are shown standing against a dark backdrop on a light ground. The central figure is shown in a frontal view and points upwards. In contrast the lady on her right has turned her back to the viewer. Only the lady to the left of the central figure looks out at the viewer and she is the only one wearing her hair loose. The three graces are not wearing any jewellery, but a transparent veil connects them to each other.

Attribution
Lucas Cranach the Elder

Attribution

Lucas Cranach the Elder

[NAMA online database, accessed 23.12.2020]

Production date
1535

Production date

1535

[dated]

Dimensions
Dimensions of support: 49.21 x 34.45 cm (19 3/8 x 13 9/16 inches)

Dimensions

Signature / Dating

Artist's insignia bottom half of the left side: winged serpent with elevated wings facing right and dated '1535'; in yellow paint

Signature / Dating

  • Artist's insignia bottom half of the left side: winged serpent with elevated wings facing right and dated '1535'; in yellow paint

Owner
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Repository
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
Location
Kansas City
CDA ID
US_NAMAKC_57-1
FR (1978) Nr.
FR251
Persistent Link
https://lucascranach.org/en/US_NAMAKC_57-1/

Provenance

  • possibly in a French collection, by 1901 [1]
  • Sir Francis Cook, 1st Baronet (1817-1901), Doughty House, Richmond Hill, Surrey, by 1901
  • by descent to his son, Sir Frederick Lucas Cook, 2nd Baronet (1844-1920), Doughty House, Richmond Hill, Surrey, 1901-1920
  • by descent to his son, Sir Herbert Cook, 3rd Baronet (1868-1939), Doughty House, Richmond Hill, Surrey, 1920-1939
  • by descent to his son, Sir Francis Ferdinand Maurice Cook, 4th Baronet (1907-1978), Doughty House, Richmond Hill, Surrey, 1939-1943
  • Trustees of the Cook collection, 13.06.1943-1956
  • purchased from the Trustees of the Cook collection by Thomas Agnew and Sons, London, stock no. J.1836, probably on joint account with F. A. Drey, Ltd., London, 13.06.1956 [2]
  • purchased from Agnew by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1956
    NOTES:
    [1] An inscription on the back of the painting reads: 'Ouvrage de Lucas Kranach Peintre Allemand/1535', suggesting the picture may have once been in a French collection.
    [2] This painting’s entry in The National Gallery, London, Thomas Agnew and Sons Ltd. Archive, NGA27/1/1, Picture Stock Books, indicates it was a joint purchase between Agnew and another dealer. According to John Somerville, Fine Art Consultant, in a letter to Dena M. Woodall, Project Assistant, May 9, 1997, NAMA curatorial files, the Cook family archive indicates the Cook trustees accepted an offer for the painting from Margaret Drey in May 1956. According to Agnew’s invoice for their sale to NAMA, October 1956, NAMA curatorial files, Agnew purchased the painting from the Cook collection trustees and the frame was acquired from M. H. Drey Ltd., London.
    [NAMA online database, accessed 23.12.2020]

Exhibitions

Kansas City 1959, no. 104
Kansas City, no. 104
Princeton 1969, no. 2
Kansas City 1983, no. 12
Frankfurt, London 2007/2008, no. 115
Düsseldorf 2017, no. 133

Literature

Reference on page Catalogue Number Figure / Plate
Exhib. Cat. Düsseldorf 2017 231 No. 133
EditorGunnar Heydenreich, Daniel Görres, Beat Wismer
TitleLucas Cranach der Ältere. Meister - Marke - Moderne. [anlässlich der Ausstellung "Cranach. Meister - Marke - Moderne", Stiftung Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf, 08. April 2017 - 30. Juli 2017]
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2017
Show Literature
Heydenreich 2015 122 Fig. 4h
AuthorGunnar Heydenreich
TitleHans Cranach. Auf der Suche nach seinem verlorenen Oeuvre
Publicationin Elke A. Werner, Anne Eusterschulte, Gunnar Heydenreich, eds., Lucas Cranach der Jüngere und die Reformation der Bilder
Place of PublicationMunich
Year of Publication2015
Link https://lucascranach.org/application/files/5415/6232/3883/Heydenreich_2015_-_Hans_Cranach.pdf
Pages116 -127
Show Literature
Aikema 2010 28
AuthorBernard Aikema
TitleCranach. A different Renaissance
Publicationin Anna Coliva, Bernhard Aikema, eds., Cranach l'altro rinascimento, a different Renaissance, Exhib.Cat. Rome
Place of PublicationRome
Year of Publication2010
Pages13-33
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt 2007 358-359 115 p. 359
EditorBodo Brinkmann
TitleCranach der Ältere, [Frankfurt, Städel Museum, 23 Nov 2007 - 17 Feb 2008]
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Show Literature
Werner 2007 109 (fn. 40)
AuthorElke Anna Werner
TitleDie Schleier der Venus. Zu einer Metapher des Sehens bei Lucas Cranach d. Ä.
Publicationin Bodo Brinkmann, ed., Cranach der Ältere, Exhib. Cat. Frankfurt
Place of PublicationOstfildern
Year of Publication2007
Pages99-109
Show Literature
Cat. Kansas City 2005 13, 19, 79-88 Fig.
AuthorBurton L. Dubar, Molly Faries
TitleThe Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. German and Netherlandish Paintings 1450-1600
Place of PublicationKansas City
Year of Publication2005
Show Literature
Mertens 1994 78, Fn. 81
AuthorVeronika Mertens
TitleDie drei Grazien. Studien zu einem Bildmotiv in der Kunst der Neuzeit
Place of PublicationWiesbaden
Year of Publication1994
Show Literature
Cat. Kansas City 1993 129, 151 Fig.
EditorRoger Ward, Patricia J. Fidler
TitleThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. A Handbook of the Collection
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1993
Link https://archive.org/details/001-nama-hdbks-1993/mode/2up
Show Literature
Churchman, Erbes 1993 74
AuthorMichael Churchman, Scott Erbes
TitleHigh Ideals and Aspirations. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art 1933-1993
Place of PublicationKansas City, MO
Issue6
Year of Publication1993
Show Literature
Wright 1989 31-69
AuthorSharyl Lee Keller Wright
TitleA Close Examination of Two Cranach Paintings in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art: The Three Graces and The Last Judgment [M.A. Department of Art History, University of Missouri-Kansas City]
Place of Publication[Kansas City, MO]
Issue6
Year of Publication1989
Show Literature
Goheen 1988 16, 42-43 Fig.
AuthorEllen R. Goheen
TitleThe Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1988
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Kansas City 1983 6, 16 012 Fig.
EditorThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
TitleThose Beguiling Women [Kansas City, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 27.09-30.10.1983]
Place of PublicationKansas City
Year of Publication1983
Show Literature
Intercom 1983 4 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleThe Body Female
JournalIntercom
Issue16, no. 4 (Summer 1983)
Year of Publication1983
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1979 251 Fig.
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
EditorG. Schwartz
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBasel, Boston, Stuttgart
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Morse 1979 84
AuthorJohn D. Morse
TitleOld Master Paintings in North America
Place of PublicationNew York
Year of Publication1979
Show Literature
Cat. Kansas City 1973 100, 259 Fig.
EditorRoss E. Taggart, George L. McKenna
TitleHandbook of the Collection in the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts. Art of the Occident (Vol. 1)
Place of PublicationKansas City, MO
Year of Publication1973
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Princeton 1969 A 002 Fig.
AuthorPrinceton University Art Museum
TitleA group of paintings by Lucas Cranach the Elder, in memory of Erwin Panofsky[Art Museum of Princeton University, March 16 through April 13, 1969]
Place of PublicationPrinceton/ N.J.
Year of Publication1969
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Princeton 1969 B Fig.
EditorPrinceton University Art Museum, Hedy Backlin-Landman
TitleSymbols in Transformation: Iconographic Themes at the Time of the Reformation (in memory of Erwin Panofsky) [Art Museum of Princeton University, March 15 - April 13, 1969]
Place of PublicationPrinceton/ N.J.
Year of Publication1969
Show Literature
Agnew 1967 Fig.
AuthorGeoffrey Agnew
TitleAgnew's, 1817-1967
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1967
Show Literature
Judd 1963 28
AuthorDonald Judd
TitleKansas City Report
JournalArts Magazine
Issue38, no. 3 (December 1963)
Year of Publication1963
Show Literature
Exhib. Cat. Kansas City 1960 104
EditorThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City
TitleAnatomy and Art [Kansas City, The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 08.05-05.06.1960]
Place of PublicationKansas City
Year of Publication1960
Show Literature
NAMA Bulletin 1960 31, 32 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleAnatomy and Art (08.05 -05.06.1960)
JournalThe Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum Bulletin
Issue3, no. 1
Year of Publication1960
Show Literature
Cat. Kansas City 1959 76, 83, 261 Fig.
EditorThe Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Ross E. Taggart
TitleHandbook Nelson Gallery of Art Atkins Museum, Kansas City
Place of PublicationKansas City
Year of Publication1959
Link https://archive.org/details/001-nama-hdbks-1959
Show Literature
Die Weltkunst 1957 cover, 5 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleCranach: Die drei Grazien
JournalDie Weltkunst
Issue27, no. 11 (June 1957)
Year of Publication1957
Show Literature
NAMA Gallery News 1957 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleRecent Acquisition
JournalNAMA Gallery News
Issue24, no. 8 (May 1957)
Year of Publication1957
Show Literature
The Art Quarterly 1957 206, 210 Fig.
Authorn. a.
TitleAccessions of American and Canadian Museums, January-March, 1957
JournalThe Art Quarterly
Issue20, no. 2 (Summer 1957)
Year of Publication1957
Show Literature
Cat. London 1932 12
AuthorMaurice W. Brockwell
EditorHerbert Cook
TitleAbridged Catalogue of the Pictures at Doughty House, Richmond, in the Collection of Sir Herbert Cook, Bart
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1932
Show Literature
Friedländer, Rosenberg 1932 68 206 Pl.
AuthorMax J. Friedländer, Jakob Rosenberg
TitleDie Gemälde von Lucas Cranach
Place of PublicationBerlin
Year of Publication1932
Link http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/friedlaender1932
Show Literature
Cat. London 1915 101 475
AuthorMaurice W. Brockwell
EditorHerbert Cook
TitleA Catalogue of the Paintings at Doughty House, Richmond, & elsewhere in the Collection of Sir Frederick Cook, Bt., Visconde de Monserrate
Volume3
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1915
Show Literature
Cat. London 1913 101
AuthorFrancis Cook
TitleA Catalogue of the Paintings at Doughty House, Richmond, and Elsewhere in the Collection of Sir Frederick Cook
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1913
Show Literature
Cat. London 1903 8
AuthorFrancis Cook
TitleAbridged Catalogue of the Pictures at Doughty House, Richmond, Belonging to Sir Frederick Cook, Bart., M.P., Visconde de Monserrate
Place of PublicationLondon
Year of Publication1903
Show Literature
  • The Three Graces, 1535

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Documents

Technical studies

23.05.2003Scientific analysis

  • Identification of wood species / Dendrochronology

Support

Identification of wood species: beech wood

[Klein Report, 23.05.2003]

  • analysed by Peter Klein

Citing from the Cranach Digital Archive

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Entry with no author
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