John William Godward

John William Godward was a Victorian Neo-Classicist painter whose works bear a strong similarity, in both style and subject matter, to the paintings of his teacher and contemporary,Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Together, these two painters would stir mild controversy with their intermingling of Classical and Pre-Raphaelite themes, at times being slightly miscategorized into the latter school. The artist’s personal life was tumultuous, at best, which would play a large part in Godward’s rapid decline from societal favor, as well as his eventual death by suicide in 1922.

Born in Wimbledon in 1861, John William Godward fell out of favor with his family when he decided to pursue a career as an artist. They disapproved strongly in Godward’s decision, to the extent that by 1912 – when the artist moved to Italy – there was to be no further contact between the parties whatsoever. No photographs of Godward are known to exist, as his family cut him out of pictures and, after the artist’s death, any remaining photographs, along with all other papers and disposable effects, were burned; such was the family’s discontent with the artist’s life, as well as the circumstances – which they deemed shameful - surrounding his death.

Godward was influenced in theory by English painter Frederic Leighton, though he took inspiration in style and subject matter from his mentor and colleague, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Alma-Tadema and Godward shared a similar passion for classical architecture, which is evident in the scenery of both artists’ paintings. Like Alma-Tadema, Godward’s signature included extraordinarily accurate representations of architectural elements; marble, in particular. A keen interest in classic Greek and Roman civilizations would remain apparent in Godward’s paintings, even as he began to incorporate brighter colors and softer brush strokes into portraits, in particular. This blending of elements would garner the attention for both artists, though much of that attention was in the form of criticism.

Even so, John William Godward enjoyed some professional success during his own lifetime. He began exhibiting at the Royal Academy in 1887, and from there went on to complete a multitude of now-famous paintings. His best known masterpiece to date is Dolce far Niente, which now resides in private collection. Another of Godward’s paintings to garner extraordinary attention is a piece known as The Tepidarium. The cross-over between the two schools favored by Godward received further criticism with this painting, as did a piece by the same name painted by Alma-Tadema, further linking the artist’s in mindset and style.

John William Godward’s painting style would begin to fall out of favor in a rather rapid fashion with the rise in popularity of more modern schools of artistic expression, Cubism being one example. The artist took particular offense to the rapid success of Pablo Picasso, having reportedly stated in his suicide note that the world was not “big enough” for him and a Picasso.