English 1861-1922 Godward was a Victorian Neo-classicist, and therefore a follower in theory of Frederic Leighton. However, he is more closely allied stylistically to Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, with whom he shared a penchant for the rendering of Classical architecture, in particular, static landscape features constructed from marble. The vast majority of Godward's extant images feature women in Classical dress, posed against these landscape features, though there are some semi-nude and fully nude figures included in his oeuvre (a notable example being In The Tepidarium (1913), a title shared with a controversial Alma-Tadema painting of the same subject that resides in the Lady Lever Art Gallery). The titles reflect Godward's source of inspiration: Classical civilisation, most notably that of Ancient Rome (again a subject binding Godward closely to Alma-Tadema artistically), though Ancient Greece sometimes features, thus providing artistic ties, albeit of a more limited extent, with Leighton. Given that Classical scholarship was more widespread among the potential audience for his paintings during his lifetime than in the present day, meticulous research of detail was important in order to attain a standing as an artist in this genre. Alma-Tadema was, as well as a painter, an archaeologist who attended historical sites and collected artefacts that were later used in his paintings: Godward, too, studied such details as architecture and dress, in order to ensure that his works bore the stamp of authenticity. In addition, Godward painstakingly and meticulously rendered those other important features in his paintings, animal skins (the paintings Noon Day Rest (1910) and A Cool Retreat (1910) contain superb examples of such rendition) and wild flowers (Nerissa (1906), illustrated above, and Summer Flowers (1903) are again excellent examples of this). The appearance of beautiful women in studied poses in so many of Godward's canvases causes many newcomers to his works to categorise him mistakenly as being Pre-Raphaelite, particularly as his palette is often a vibrantly colourful one. However, the choice of subject matter (ancient civilisation versus, for example, Arthurian legend) is more properly that of the Victorian Neoclassicist: however, it is appropriate to comment that in common with numerous painters contemporary with him, Godward was a 'High Victorian Dreamer', producing beautiful images of a world which, it must be said, was idealised and romanticised, and which in the case of both Godward and Alma-Tadema came to be criticised as a world-view of 'Victorians in togas'.  Related Paintings of John William Godward :. | Autumn | Godward Leaning on the Balcony | The Old, Old Story | Chloris A Summer Rose | Mischief |
Related Artists:
Thomas Trotter
British 1756-1803
j. h. scheffel
Wismar 1690 - Västerås 1786 J.H. Scheffel kom från en borgasläkt i Wismar, en nordtysk stad som på 1600-talets införlivats med Sverige. Om Scheffels läroår vet man ingenting utöver uppgiften i en gammal biografi att han studerade till målare i Berlin, Paris och Brabant. Scheffel dök upp i Stockholm år 1723. Uppenbarligen samarbetade han först med David von Krafft. Efter dennes död 1724 grundade Scheffel, då redan fullärd porträttör, sin egen atelj??. Ett av de första uppdragen, porträttet av borgmästare Bergstedts unga dotter, ledde till ett lyckligt och av en riklig hemgift åtföljt äktenskap med fröken Bergstedt. Scheffel samlade redan tidigt kring sig en trogen kundkrets bland adeln och det förmögna borgarskapet. Han behöll sin framgångsrika position från 1720-talet till 1760-talet. Någon ledande hovmålare eller mest gynnad societetsmålare i Stockholm var Scheffel aldrig. Hans stadiga popularitet som pålitlig och kompetent porträttmålare rubbades emellertid inte av modets växlingar, ty han hade förmågan att smidigt följa de nya strömningarna utan att pruta på sin karga och förnuftiga konstnärliga egenart. Scheffels porträtt visar sällan prov på pretentiösa barockgester eller affekterad romantisk tillgjordhet. Hans personåtergivning var utfunderad och konstaterande. I hans digra produktion ingår stela rutinarbeten, men i bästa fall är hans målningar karaktärsstudier som bygger på en stark vision. Hans målningsteknik var kompetent men anspråkslös: i helheten fäster man uppmärksamhet vid mänskobilden, inte vid utförandet. När Scheffel i 75-årsåldern som pensionerad drog sig tillbaka för att tillbringa tiden med sin familj var han en rask och förmögen gammal herre. Han uppnådde den för tiden ovanligt höga åldern av 91 år, enligt dottersonen till följd av sitt glada och jämna humör, sina ordentliga levnadsvanor och en till åldern anpassad flit och motion .
ZURBARAN Francisco de
Spanish Baroque Era Painter, 1598-1664 Spanish painter. He was apprenticed in 1614 to a painter in Sevilla (Seville), where he lived until 1658 when he moved to Madrid. He had a few royal commissions but remained throughout his life a provincial painter of religious pictures. His apostles, saints, and monks are painted with almost sculptural modeling, and his emphasis on the minutiae of their dress lends verisimilitude to their miracles, visions, and ecstasies. This distinctive combination of naturalism with religious sensibility conforms to the guidelines for Counter-Reformation artists outlined by the Council of Trent. He had numerous commissions from monasteries and churches throughout southern Spain, and many of his works were sent to Lima, Peru.