John William Godward R.B.A.

Sale: Sotheby's, London, March 9, 1976, lot 45, illustrated
Jeremy Maas Gallery, London
Richard Green, London
Sale: Sotheby's, London, October 4, 1978, lot 219, illustrated
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, November 10, 1998, lot 164, illustrated
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

Vern G. Swanson, John William Godward: The Eclipse of Classicism, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1988, no. 49, p. 71, illustrated p. 73

Vern G. Swanson remarks that Contemplation was "perhaps the best 'head' by Godward during the first years of the century" (Swanson, 1988, p. 71). Interestingly, the woman featured in this work is viewed from below, giving her an almost monumental appearance. Her head is framed by an impressive marble wall and gilt pilaster. She was Godward's favorite model, an Italian woman who some scholars suggest may have been the object of the artist's affection.
The academic treatment and highly polished finish of this painting brings to mind the works of Frederic Leighton and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, whose work Godward admired. The composition also displays many of the hallmarks of the wider aesthetic movement prevelant at the end of the century, which promoted the importance of formal and senual qualities over visual narrative.