拍品專文
Godward's life was shrouded in mystery, and little is known about this reclusive artist, who defied family wishes by becoming a self-taught painter. Godward exhibited his first documented Greco-Roman work, Poppaea (1887), at the Royal British Academy in their 1887-88 Winter Exhibition. Although Godward declined invitations to become a member of the Royal Academy, he showed there regularly from 1887-1903. Yet growing ever more reclusive, Godward by 1905 was completely absent from exhibitions in England.
Godward's mastery of naturalistic detail is readily apparent in Mischief, one of his finest paintings from 1905. Here a maiden has plucked a white rose from the bush behind her and, lost in thought, plays a game with the petals. This dark beauty reappears as the model for the majority of Godward's later paintings, although she was not a muse so much as an embodiment expressive of the vicissitudes of the artist's inner sentiments -- an objective similar to a landscape painter recording his changing impressions of light in nature. It is unclear if there were any romantic inclinations between the artist and this woman, although family members once speculated that it was an Italian model that prompted Godward to travel to Rome from 1911-1921.
Godward's work bears affinities to that of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, although, in fact, he probably never met the eminent Victorian painter. For a short period they shared the same dealer, the prominent Bond Street dealer Arthur Tooth, before Godward left to be represented by Thomas McLean, whose gallery was just several doors away. Like Alma-Tadema, Godward used his home and its accoutrements as an instrument of his art, constantly rearranging architectural and archeological elements like props on a set. Godward was also an admirer of Lord Leighton, as evidenced by their common use of delicately-rendered drapery and solitary female figures in reverie.
Godward's mastery of naturalistic detail is readily apparent in Mischief, one of his finest paintings from 1905. Here a maiden has plucked a white rose from the bush behind her and, lost in thought, plays a game with the petals. This dark beauty reappears as the model for the majority of Godward's later paintings, although she was not a muse so much as an embodiment expressive of the vicissitudes of the artist's inner sentiments -- an objective similar to a landscape painter recording his changing impressions of light in nature. It is unclear if there were any romantic inclinations between the artist and this woman, although family members once speculated that it was an Italian model that prompted Godward to travel to Rome from 1911-1921.
Godward's work bears affinities to that of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, although, in fact, he probably never met the eminent Victorian painter. For a short period they shared the same dealer, the prominent Bond Street dealer Arthur Tooth, before Godward left to be represented by Thomas McLean, whose gallery was just several doors away. Like Alma-Tadema, Godward used his home and its accoutrements as an instrument of his art, constantly rearranging architectural and archeological elements like props on a set. Godward was also an admirer of Lord Leighton, as evidenced by their common use of delicately-rendered drapery and solitary female figures in reverie.