The Return of the Gods: Neoclassical Sculpture in Britain

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The monumental Duveen Galleries are the perfect setting for the first exhibition to focus on the full range of British neo-classical sculpture. These extraordinary marble pieces were designed to astonish and captivate, as artists were given hitherto unknown licence to create highly charged nudes with vitality and sensuality. From the exquisite grace of Canova's The Three Graces to the dramatic vigour of Thomas Banks's The Falling Titan, the human figure, transformed and idealised in white marble, was the essence of this sculpture. Observation of the body, realisation of soft flesh in permanent and beautiful stone, inspired by and transcending classical models from Ancient Rome and Greece, led to the creation of these outstanding masterpieces of figurative sculpture.