‘The first and most original painting this year was A Greek Beauty. We could only tell she was a Greek rather than Roman girl by virtue of the marble frieze of fighting Centaurs and Amazons [sic] patterned after the Parthenon metopes. In this oil he paints a brilliant white gown instead of his usual vivid coloured ones. Then, as if to compensate for the lack of colour, he paints a multicoloured stola, which too is unique to this picture.’
A beautiful dark-haired model leans languorously against a marble wall, dressed in a brilliant-white toga tied with violet ribbons and a striped stola at her waist. The white of her gown and that of the marble add to the sense of bright, Mediterranean light – the white-heat of the south where fair-skinned women must shield their faces from the glare of the midday sun with feathered fans. Cypress trees, azure-blue sea and distant mountainous shorelines further reference the sunlit climes of Greece and Italy. Godward created a world of care-free languor in which female, statuesque beauty is the main theme. In A Greek Beauty the inactivity of the woman is contrasted with the vigour of the carved relief behind her, depicting Centaurs and Lapiths locked in battle.
It seems that the earliest inclusion of the Parthenon reliefs in Godward’s paintings was In Expectation of c.1892 (private collection) and Leaning on the Balcony of the same year (private collection), the same section appearing in Lucilia of 1908 (private collection), Sappho of 1910 (private collection), On the Balcony of 1911 (offered in these rooms, 15 November 2011, lot 55), The Peacock Fan of 1912 (Christie’s, New York, 16 October 1985, lot 52). In each of these paintings Godward depicted the reliefs of the cavalry going into battle from the Western pediment of the Parthenon and A Greek Beauty appears to be the only picture by Godward to depict the Lapiths and Centaurs based on the metopes at the Acropolis – they are interpretations rather than direct copies of any of the reliefs.
Although the sculpture suggests a setting in Greece – and the title is given as A Greek Beauty – the painting was probably inspired by Southern Italy. It is thought that Godward visited the islands of Capri and Ischia in the winter of 1904 and 1905. He also visited Pompeii and Naples where the museum was a treasure trove of inspiration. The reason for Godward leaving London and seeking sanctuary in Italy may have been the start of construction at Stamford Bridge of the newly founded Chelsea Football Club almost literally in the artist’s backyard at 410 Fulham Road. Godward probably stayed in Italy until April 1905 and as Vern Swanson has noted; ‘His Italian experience left an indelible mark upon his consciousness and obviously lured him to move to Rome in 1910 for an eleven-year stay.’ (p. 97)
RIGHT: FIG. 2 JOHN WILLIAM GODWARD, CAMPASPE, OIL ON CANVAS, 1900, 230 BY 115.5CM., PRIVATE COLLECTION
The pose of A Greek Beauty is similar to Campaspe of 1896 (sold in these rooms, 7 December 2022, lot 35; fig. 2) painted almost a decade earlier but apparently from the same model. With half-closed eyes and the hint of a smile on her lips, her expression is conspiratorial and inviting in both Campaspe and A Greek Beauty and also Contemplation of 1903 (Sotheby’s, New York, 4 November 2011, lot 58) and A Roman Beauty of 1904 (Christie’s, London, 16 June 2010, lot 167).