Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces

1763–65

As a portrait painter, Sir Joshua Reynolds liked to give his sitters Classical attributes and poses. Dressed in robes, Lady Sarah Bunbury pours a libation of oil as an offering to the Three Graces, positioned behind her. Her fiancé, Charles Bunbury, commissioned this marriage portrait, making her association with the Graces—symbols of fertility and attendants to the Roman goddess of love, Venus—all the more appropriate.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Sir Joshua Reynolds (English, 1723–1792)

Date

1763–65

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

242.6 × 151.5 cm (95 1/2 × 59 3/4 in.)

Origin

England

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Kimball Collection