The Three Graces: canons of beauty or disease repulsion

The theme of the Three Graces has been approached by several artists and writers but very few physicians.

Here distinct versions of the Three Graces are considered through the lens of medical analysis and contemporary conceptions of ideal beauty.

Graces have been traced back to the same origins as the Nymphs, old goddesses of nature and representation, and being also a paradigm of beauty. This is in stark contrast to Rubens's Three Graces, who present womanly traits such as voluptuousness and full, round forms. It is paradoxical that when analysed medically, these painted women show signs of disease that inevitably affect our reading of the image. Medical conditions include presence of overweight close to obesity with a calculated BMI between 26 and 29 associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Today canons of beauty comprise women with BMI of 20 or less, a figure associated with increased risks of anorexia and suicide. It seems we approach the paradox that beauty and repulsion will always go hand in hand, shifting together with our changing perception over time.