John William Godward
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 :. | The Old, Old Story | Idle Thoughts | Dolce Far Niente | Leisure Hours | The Ring by John William Godward | Related Artists: Franz Thomas LowLived in 18th centry. Claes Dircksz.van er heckAlkamaar 1571-after 1649
Johann Erdmann Hummel1769 Kassel-1852 Berlin,German painter and writer. He studied from 1782 in the architecture class at the Akademie der Bildenden K?nste at Kassel and subsequently under the Kassel court painter, Wilhelm B?ttner. Hummel retained his connection with architecture, however, and this is manifested in his overpowering concern with structure and perspective. The Kassel court granted Hummel funds for travel and study in Italy and, in 1792, he went to Rome, where he joined a group of fellow Germans, including the painters Johann Christian Reinhart, Johann Martin von Rohden, Friedrich Bury and the architect Friedrich Weinbrenner. In 1796 Joseph Anton Koch joined the group. Hummel also attended the philosophical lectures given by Carl Ludwig Fernow (1763-1808) and became a friend of the archaeologist Aloys Hirt. In Rome,
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