John William Godward and his beautiful Italian women. Why did the artist’s life turn out tragically?

John William Godward is the last significant neoclassical artist in Britain. Some researchers classify him as a late Pre-Raphaelite. He created paintings full of light and colors. But he himself was a withdrawn person who suffered from harsh criticism from his contemporaries. At the turn of the century, modern art was gaining popularity, and the work of this master remained underestimated during his lifetime. The artist suffered from condemnation not only from avant-garde critics, but also from his own family.

The beginning of John Godward’s creative path

John William Godward was born in 1861 into a wealthy and respectable, but puritanical family. As the eldest son and heir, he had to continue the business of his father, who was engaged in insurance and investments. When the future artist chose to paint, his parents did not support him and considered this occupation unworthy. Nevertheless, Godward lived with his family until he was 26. In 1888, he successfully debuted at an exhibition, joined the community of Victorian artists and rented a separate studio.

Godward chose the main theme of his work in his youth and stuck to it throughout his life. The master was inspired by girls of the Greco-Roman type, whom he depicted in antique clothing with draperies. The background is often marble terraces with flowers and a seascape in the background. The image of antiquity was popular at that time. But the artist’s contemporaries more often depicted Englishwomen in the appropriate setting. And only Godward looked for models of Italian origin among emigrants.

In the 90s, the artist became famous. He became known abroad, including the United States. Reproductions of paintings were often published in magazines. Godward became a recognized master of the classical style and genre. Financial well-being allowed him to move into a solid house with a separate one-story studio. Behind its fence, the artist led a solitary life, but worked a lot and fruitfully. However, the circle of admirers was narrow due to the growing anti-traditional sentiments. For this reason, since 1894, Godward stopped exhibiting at the Society of British Artists.

Departure for Rome

John Godward made his first trip to Italy in 1905, and then organized his first exhibition in Paris. From that moment on, he increasingly distanced himself from artistic life in Britain, although his buyers remained, mainly, compatriots. The trip was facilitated by an inheritance from an aunt. Another reason is said to be the construction of a noisy stadium next to his house. In 1910 and 1911, Godward went to Rome again in order to find a house with a studio. And in 1912 he moved permanently. By this time, the avant-garde movement in his homeland had become more organized, and modernist critics mercilessly attacked the last classicists. The move is also associated with Godward’s romantic relationship with an Italian girl from a poor family. This relationship shocked the artist’s mother, and the already difficult relationship with the family deteriorated completely.

The first years in Italy were successful. Researchers suggest that the artist stayed at the same villa where Ilya Repin had previously worked. Avant-garde sentiments were not yet so strong here; Rome remained a stronghold of neoclassical art. The artist’s paintings received recognition. In 1913, his work “Belvedere” received a gold medal at an international exhibition held in Rome. But by the 1920s, the situation had worsened.

Godward’s health was deteriorating, and radical Fauvists and Cubists began to gather in the immediate vicinity of his home. In 1921, a group of such artists seized his studio, so that they subsequently had to be evicted through the courts. The master returned to Britain, but did not find well-being here either. He found classical art to have finally given up its positions. Paintings with antique beauties did not fit into the new environment. All this led to the fact that in 1922 the artist committed suicide.

Godward’s mother and brothers considered his act offensive. Saving his reputation, they tried to hide the fact of suicide, and most importantly, they destroyed all his property and photographs. Therefore, not a single image of the master has survived. Also, there are practically no unfinished works left to study the technique of his work. Relatives left only paintings suitable for sale. For half a century, John Godward was forgotten, but in the 70s, fame returned to him again. Now his paintings are as popular as the work of Leighton, Bouguereau and Waterhouse. In 1995, the painting “Dolce Far Niente” was sold at auction for $567,000. Even people far from art know some of his works, since these subjects are often used in interior design.