Lot 52
  • 52

John William Godward, R.B.A.

Estimate
400,000 - 600,000 USD
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Description

  • John William Godward, R.B.A.
  • Ismenia
  • signed J.W. GODWARD and dated 1908 (upper left); inscribed ISMENIA/J.W. GODWARD 1908 on the reverse

  • oil on canvas
  • 32 by 26 in.
  • 81.2 by 66 cm

Provenance

Eugene Cremetti, London (by May 30, 1908)
Thomas M. McLean, London
Sale: Sotheby's, London, November 22, 1983, lot 57, illustrated
P. Ryan (acquired at the above sale)

Literature

Joseph A. Kestner, Mythology and Misogyny, The Social Discourse of Nineteenth-Century British Classical-Subject Painters, Madison, Wisconsin, 1989, p. 338, illustrated p. 363, C-14
Vern Grosvenor Swanson, John William Godward, The Eclipse of Classicism, Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1997, pp. 87; 220-21 (no. 10), 272, illustrated p. 86, pl. 66

Condition

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This painting is in perfect condition. The canvas has never been lined. The paint layer is clean and varnished. There are no retouches. The canvas could be slightly tightened on the stretcher. Overall the picture is in beautiful state and should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Catalogue Note

Throughout his oeuvre, Godward focused on classical subjects—almost always a woman in robes placed among marble terraces, and painted with degree of skill that matches that of Sir Lawerence Alma-Tadema, but with a monumentality characteristic of Frederic, Lord Leighton (Christopher Wood, Olympian Dreamers, Victorian Classical Painters 1860-1914, London, 1983, p. 247). In a photograph proving Leighton's influence, a model in Godward's studio stands before a fireplace, behind which is a large framed print of Leighton's famous The Garden of the Hesperides, where the female figures have a heavy languor similar to Godward's Ismenia.  Slouched in a fur-lined chair, a young beauty plucks a pair of cherries from a shimmering abalone shell. The highly saturated purples and ochre in her tunic contrast with the warm alabaster of her skin and the earthy tones of the multi-chrome marbles framing her figure.  While such color contrasts may seem an invention by the artist, ancient Romans often brashly mixed brightly painted statues and architectural decorations with marble and granite interiors (Swanson, p. 221). The large blocks of color and smooth, expansive surfaces combined with the placement of the figure immediately against the picture plane elevate this portrait of a maiden to monumental scale. The composition's title may derive from the Greek Ismeme, the Naiad nymph of the Ismenian spring of Thebes, daughter of the river-God Asopos, and wife of King Argos, who was renowned for her strength and courage (the more recognizable spelling of "Ismeme" is the title of Godward's 1922 composition) (Swanson p. 246). Certainly Godward's vibrant woman suggests the mythical quality of her namesake. However, such connotations are secondary to the composition's decorative harmonies and the female figure's graceful, sensual form. Ismenia was the first oil Cremetti & Son handled for Godward upon acquiring the gallery of Thomas McLean, largely credited for building the artist's fame (Swanson, p. 87).