Unchanged by any teller — how the centuries since have seen Thalia.
The gallery
The Three Graces (Pompeian fresco)
Unknown Roman painter, 1st century AD
A Roman wall painting from Pompeii showing the three Charites — Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia — in their canonical pose, standing nude and intertwined with the outer two facing the viewer and the central figure turned away. As the personification of festive bloom and abundance among the Graces, Thalia (whose name means 'blooming, flourishing') belongs to this inseparable triad of beauty, joy, and good cheer. The fresco, now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, preserves the ancient image-type that every later 'Three Graces' would echo.
The Three Graces
Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1630–1635
A late oil painting by Rubens of the three Charites — Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia — embracing beneath a garland of flowers in a lush landscape, their full, glowing bodies the image of fertility and joyous abundance. Thalia, the Grace of festivity and blooming plenty, is at home in this verdant setting wreathed with blossoms. The work hangs in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, and was kept by the artist in his own collection until his death.
The Three Graces
Antonio Canova, 1814–1817
A Neoclassical marble group of the three Charites — Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia — standing in a tender, interlaced embrace, their heads inclined together over a shared garland. Canova reduces the ancient triad to a study of pure grace and affection in polished white stone. As one of the three, Thalia personifies blooming good cheer; this version of the sculpture is held by the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.