JOHN WILLIAM GODWARD – English Neoclassical Painter (HD)).mp4

John William Godward lived from August 9th, 1861 to December 13th, 1922. He was an English painter who started painting towards the end of the C era.
He was a protégé of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, but his style of painting fell out of favor with the rise of modern art.
Godward was a Victorian Neo-Classicist, and therefore, in theory, a follower of Frederic Leighton. However, he is more closely allied stylistically to Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, with whom he shared a penchant for the rendering of classical architecture – in particular, static landscape features constructed from marble.
Godward was born in 1861 and lived in Wilton Grove, Wimbledon.
His parents were Sarah Eboral and John Godward.
He was the eldest son and had four siblings.
He was named after his father, John, and grandfather, William.
The overbearing attitude of his parents made him reclusive and shy later in adulthood.
The vast majority of Godward's extant images feature women in Classical dress posed against landscape features, although there are some semi-nude and fully nude figures included in his oeuvre. A notable example of this is, In The Tepidarium, completed in 1913. Its title was shared with a controversial Alma-Tadema painting of the same subject that resides in the Lady Lever Art Gallery.
The titles reflect Godward's source of inspiration: Classical civilization, most notably that of Ancient Rome. Once again a subject that binds Godward closely to Alma-Tadema artistically.
Given that Classical scholarship was more widespread among the potential audience for his paintings during his lifetime than in the present day, meticulous research of detail was important in order to attain a standing as an artist in this genre.
Alma-Tadema was an archaeologist as well as a painter. He attended historical sites and collected artifacts he later used in his paintings. Also, Godward, studied in detail, both architecture and dress, in order to ensure that his works bore the stamp of authenticity.