The three graces by Hans Baldung Grien is one of my favorite depictions of the three out of all the graces I’ve seen. This painting is part of a set along with “the ages and death”, which I will post about tomorrow. This is one of Grien’s later works, one of his explorations in German Expressionism, becoming popular at the time.

What strikes me specifically with this work is the flat out mischief in th graces’ looks. They are reading from a book, playing instruments, doing harmonious things, but they look like they are totally ready to dive in to any sort of mischief they possibly can. The children on the ground look more innocent, just bugging a swan, as children do. They almost come off as more adult than the three women, who have a youthful joy about them, enveloped in beauty and music, taking pleasure in reading. Except they are putting down those things to explore what can only be a bad idea. The musical grace already has one discarded instrument, and looks rather like she’s ready to discard her other instrument in favor of chasing after some nefarious project.

This work speaks to both the beauty and harmony of the traditional three graces, but also reminds us of the spark of chaos in every worldly harmony. It makes for a great pair and segue for the other work, which I will review tomorrow.