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 :. | A Grecian Lovely | Le Billet Doux (The Love Letter) | Summer Flowers | At the Gate of the Temple | He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not | Related Artists: sigismund vasa1566-1632, vars rattmatiga dynastiska krav pa den svenska tronen gjorde honom till en livslang fiende med kusinen gustav ll adolf. Eilif Peterssen1852-1928
was a Norwegian painter. He attended the of Fredrik Eckersberg in Kristiania (now Oslo) in 1866 and 1870. After that, he studied painting briefly with Knud Bergslien at the Johan Fredrick Eckersberg School of Painting and left to go abroad in 1871. He studied at the School of Art of Copenhagen; in Karlsruhe (1871?C1873), where he was a student of Hans Gude; and, together with Hans Heyerdahl, in Munich under Wilhelm von Diez. He then studied in London, Paris, and Italy. After these travels, he returned to Norway and settled in Bærum. He made his debut at the Høstutstillingen (Autumn Exposition) in Kristiania in 1882. He was a profound connoisseur of European art and was later associated groups such as Lysaker, the painters of Fleskum and those of Skagenpainters, as well as with individual artists like August Eiebakke, Kitty Kielland and Harald Oskar Sohlberg. In Norway, he is also known as the designer of the coat of arms of Norway, adopted when the country separated from Sweden in 1905 to become an independent country. This version was used for official government purposes until 1937, when it was replaced by a new version. Nonetheless, Peterssen's design is still used for the royal coat of arms and for the royal flag. In addition to his canvasses, he collaborated on the decoration of the Tourist Hotel in Holmenkollen in 1889. In the same year, he painted the murals "The Wanderers of Emmaus" in the Church of Tanum in Bærum and "Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane" in the Church of the Cross, Bergen. Tim Verfaillie (Brugge, 14 January 1893 - Rochefort, 1934) was Belgian painter who was one of the smaller figures of Flemish expressionism.
In his younger days he travelled through the Scottish Highlands. The atmosphere he witnessed there would remain an important influence in his work.
|
|
|