''Three Women with Parasols'' (french: Trois femmes aux ombrelles), also known as ''The Three Graces'', is an 1880 oil-on-canvas painting by French artist

Marie Bracquemond Marie Bracquemond (1 December 1840 – 17 January 1916) was a French Impressionist artist. She was one of four notable women in the Impressionist movement, along with Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Berthe Morisot (1841-1895), and Eva Gonzales (1847- ...

. The painting depicts three women wearing the then fashionable style of ruffled dresses with high bodices. The woman in the middle holds a fan in the popular style of

Japonisme ''Japonisme'' is a French term that refers to the popularity and influence of Japanese art and design among a number of Western European artists in the nineteenth century following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858. Japo ...

. Marie's half-sister Louise Quivoron was the model for the two figures on each side while Bracquemond based the central figure on her own likeness. Bracquemond produced several studies for the work, and one may have been shown in 1886 at the eighth Impressionist exhibition. The work is often known by the moniker of ''The Three Graces'', referring to the three goddesses of the

Charites In Greek mythology, the Charites ( ), singular ''Charis'', or Graces, were three or more goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, goodwill, and fertility. Hesiod names three – Aglaea ("Shining"), Euphrosyne ("Joy"), and Tha ...

(the ''Gratiae'' or "Graces") from Roman mythology who appear as a common theme in Western art. Art historians refer to the painting as one of the most impressionistic works Bracquemond produced during this period. French art critic

Gustave Geffroy Gustave Geffroy (1 June 1855 – 4 April 1926) was a French journalist, art critic, historian and novelist. He was one of the ten founding members of the literary organisation Académie Goncourt in 1900. Geffroy is noted as one of the first histo ...

was so taken with the work that he purchased it from Bracquemond and hung it in the

Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of th ...

. The work was received by the Musée du Luxembourg through the bequest of Geffroy in 1926, where it appeared for the next ten years. In 1936, it was moved to Chemillé City Hall where it stayed until 2013 when it was acquired by the Musée d’Orsay.Kagawa, Kyoko (2021).
Marie Bracquemond's On the Terrace at Sevres: An Impressionist Painter's Point of Departure
. ''Ishibashi Foundation Bulletin''. Artizon Museum. 2: 119-123.

Study

Study for Three Women with Parasols Bracquemond.jpg, Study for ''Three Women with Parasols''

References

External links

Description
at the Musée d'Orsay. Paintings by Marie Bracquemond 1880 paintings Japonisme {{19C-painting-stub