(Haarlem 1562–1638)
An allegorical scene featuring the Three Graces Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia(daughters of Jupiter) with their attributes of a veil, a mirror, and a wreath on the right, with Venus and Cupid astride on a conch in the background, and, shrouded in clouds above, the Assembly of the Gods on Mount Olympus,
signed and dated lower left: CVH(ligated) 1622,
oil on canvas, 89 x 81 cm, framed

Provenance:
Royal Bavarian Picture Gallery, Schleissheim Palace;
sale, Lempertz, Cologne, holdings of the art dealer Malmedé & Geissendörfer, 26th November 1931, lot 669;
Pieter de Boer Gallery, Amsterdam (circa 1965–69):
Collection Mrs D. E. Hawkins, Wolverhampton, England (since 1969)

Literature:
P. J. J. van Thiel, Cornelis Cornelisz. Van Haarlem 1562–1638: A Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné, Doornspijk 1999, pp. 138, 345, cat. no. 133, pl. 265

Cornelis van Haarlem began his career in the workshop of Pieter Pietersz. in Haarlem. Stopping over in Antwerp, where Gillis Coignet introduced him to still life painting, he travelled to Paris at the age of seventeen, where he stayed for more than a year. Having returned to Haarlem in 1581, the artist received his first public commission, a painting of the Civic Guard (today in the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem), from the city of Haarlem in 1583. Further commissions from the municipal government followed. In 1583, Cornelis also met the art historiographer Karel van Mander (1548–1606), who inspired him to study antiquity. Another friend of his was the engraver Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617). The three of them – van Haarlem, van Mander, and Goltzius – formed the so-called Haarlem Academy, the cradle of Haarlem Mannerism, which spread across Europe through Goltzius’s prints. The Haarlem Mannerists preferred antique subject matter, but they also treated religious themes, all of which enabled them to show the artistic potential of the human figure in the nude. The present painting is an excellent example of Mannerism from Haarlem. The scene depicted here was an opportunity for the painter to demonstrate his superior mastery of nude painting. The first depictions of the Three Graces can be found in antique reliefs from the Hellenistic period. They inspired Renaissance paintings, such as Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera in the Uffizi in Florence or Raphael’s Three Graces in the Musée Condé in Chantilly. In 1639, Peter Paul Rubens painted what is now probably the most famous representation of the Three Graces (Museo del Prado, Madrid).

The present painting, dating from 1622, seems to be the earliest North European treatment on the subject. Cornelis van Haarlem dealt with it only once. P. van Thiel, author of the monograph on Cornelis van Haarlem, has identified the figures of the scene as follows: on the right-hand side appear the Three Graces, with their father Jupiter above them in the sky, and their mother, Eurynome, on a cloud below. The repoussoir figure with the urn has been identified as the river god Asopus, her brother, who is accompanied by his grandfather, Oceanus. In the dark background one can recognise a group offering a sacrifice to Jupiter. In the 1969 catalogue by the Pieter de Boer Gallery, the motif was described as The Wedding of the Daughters of the River God Oceanus. However, the individual figures might also be interpreted differently. Cornelis borrowed two of them – Euphrosyne (the Grace viewed from behind) and the grey-haired river god on the left – from his Judgement of Paris from 1597. He used the river god again in 1623 and 1628, which indicates that he integrated figures from his stock of preliminary drawings in various contexts. The Three Graces from 1622 is an excellent example of how skilfully Cornelis assimilated the formal vocabulary of the Italian Renaissance with his outstanding abilities as a colourist.

Provenance:
Royal Bavarian Picture Gallery, Schleissheim Palace;
sale, Lempertz, Cologne, holdings of the art dealer Malmedé & Geissendörfer, 26th November 1931, lot 669;
Pieter de Boer Gallery, Amsterdam (circa 1965–69):
Collection Mrs D. E. Hawkins, Wolverhampton, England (since 1969)

Literature: </(b>
P. J. J. van Thiel, Cornelis Cornelisz. Van Haarlem 1562–1638: A Monograph and Catalogue Raisonné, Doornspijk 1999, pp. 138, 345, cat. no. 133, pl. 265

Cornelis van Haarlem began his career in the workshop of Pieter Pietersz. in Haarlem. Stopping over in Antwerp, where Gillis Coignet introduced him to still life painting, he travelled to Paris at the age of seventeen, where he stayed for more than a year. Having returned to Haarlem in 1581, the artist received his first public commission, a painting of the Civic Guard (today in the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem), from the city of Haarlem in 1583. Further commissions from the municipal government followed. In 1583, Cornelis also met the art historiographer Karel van Mander (1548–1606), who inspired him to study antiquity. Another friend of his was the engraver Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617). The three of them – van Haarlem, van Mander, and Goltzius – formed the so-called Haarlem Academy, the cradle of Haarlem Mannerism, which spread across Europe through Goltzius’s prints. The Haarlem Mannerists preferred antique subject matter, but they also treated religious themes, all of which enabled them to show the artistic potential of the human figure in the nude. The present painting is an excellent example of Mannerism from Haarlem. The scene depicted here was an opportunity for the painter to demonstrate his superior mastery of nude painting. The first depictions of the Three Graces can be found in antique reliefs from the Hellenistic period. They inspired Renaissance paintings, such as Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera in the Uffizi in Florence or Raphael’s Three Graces in the Musée Condé in Chantilly. In 1639, Peter Paul Rubens painted what is now probably the most famous representation of the Three Graces (Museo del Prado, Madrid).

The present painting, dating from 1622, seems to be the earliest North European treatment on the subject. Cornelis van Haarlem dealt with it only once. P. van Thiel, author of the monograph on Cornelis van Haarlem, has identified the figures of the scene as follows: on the right-hand side appear the Three Graces, with their father Jupiter above them in the sky, and their mother, Eurynome, on a cloud below. The repoussoir figure with the urn has been identified as the river god Asopus, her brother, who is accompanied by his grandfather, Oceanus. In the dark background one can recognise a group offering a sacrifice to Jupiter. In the 1969 catalogue by the Pieter de Boer Gallery, the motif was described as The Wedding of the Daughters of the River God Oceanus. However, the individual figures might also be interpreted differently. Cornelis borrowed two of them – Euphrosyne (the Grace viewed from behind) and the grey-haired river god on the left – from his Judgement of Paris from 1597. He used the river god again in 1623 and 1628, which indicates that he integrated figures from his stock of preliminary drawings in various contexts. The Three Graces from 1622 is an excellent example of how skilfully Cornelis assimilated the formal vocabulary of the Italian Renaissance with his outstanding abilities as a colourist.