John William Godward, R.B.A. (1861-1922)
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John William Godward, R.B.A. (1861-1922)

Matrona Superba

細節
John William Godward, R.B.A. (1861-1922)
Matrona Superba
signed and dated 'J.W. Godward. 1920' (lower right)
oil on canvas
51 x 32½ in. (129.5 x 82.5 cm.)
來源
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's Belgravia, 6 June 1972, lot 115 (£650).
with The Leger Galleries, London.
出版
V. Swanson, John William Godward: The Eclipse of Classicism, Woodbridge, 1997, p. 245, cat. 2, illustrated.
注意事項
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium

拍品專文

Although Godward had exhibited almost yearly at the Royal Academy during the last decades of the 19th century, neo-classical painting had fallen out of favour by the twentieth. Matrona Superba is one of only five recorded paintings dating from 1920, two years before the artist's death. Whilst it is bold in its reclamation of those classical ideals that Godward revered, there is perhaps a touch of the contemporary too. The model's appraising gaze, and her commanding bearing, coupled with her closely wound hair, argue her fitness for the decade. Ten years previous, Godward's maidens had chignons tied at the base of their necks; were frequently depicted in profile and accessorised with some aide to leisure such as a fan, perfume phial or billet-doux.