Editing Joséphine de Beauharnais (section)

=== Sculpture ===
[[File:Canova-Dancer with her hands on her hips 45degree view.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Antonio Canova]] ''Dancer with Her Hands on her Hips'', 1812]]

Over her lifetime Joséphine commissioned four major pieces from the Italian Neoclassical sculptor [[Antonio Canova]]. The Empress was given a copy of Canova's work ''Cupid and Psyche'', which was originally promised to Colonel [[John Campbell, 1st Baron Cawdor|John Campbell]], but because of unforeseen circumstances it was gifted to Joséphine. She would commission Canova to create a sculpture and the result would be ''Dancer with Hands on Hips''. The work was commissioned in 1802 but was not finished until 1812, Joséphine allowed him to create on his own terms, which were based on the classics but with a more relaxed and joyful appearance. He would create several sculptures based on dancing. ''Dancer with Hands on Hips'' was praised by the art community because it was not based on any specific ancient sculpture, but with a classical style, making it a completely original sculpture.

Joséphine would commission Canova again for another sculpture called ''Paris''. The work's plaster cast was completed in 1807 but the marble statue was not finished until 1812. arriving in Malmaison in 1813 a year before Joséphine's death. The final sculpture that the Empress would commission was ''[[The Three Graces (Canova)|The Three Graces]]''. This work would not be completed until after Joséphine's death in 1816. All four works were eventually sold to Tsar Alexander of Russia.<ref>"Empress Josephine's Collection of Sculpture by Canova at Malmaison". Journal of the History of Collections 16, no. 1 (May 2004): 19–33.</ref>