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  • John William Godward
    Aug 9, 1861 - Dec 13, 1922
  • Crytilla - Godward excelled in oil and watercolour. His work remained consistent throughout a remarkable career spanning almost forty years, over which time he created a vital stylistic niche for his oeuvre. Godward is best known for his highly finished paintings of pretty girls attired in classical robes, indeed, he became known as the master ‘classical tunic gown’ painter.
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Crytilla
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  • Crytilla

  • John William Godward
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  • 1908
    Oil on canvas
    133 1/2 x 75 cm (52 1/2 x 29 1/2 in.)

    Crytilla is among the most beautiful of Godward's single-figure compositions, depicting a striking model posed against a wall of marble selecting a violet anemone from a bunch she holds at her breast. Her robes are the colour of ripe peaches, held in place with pearl buttons and scarlet ribbons and with a deep plum stola tied around her waist. This costume combined with a bandeaux tied in the hair and sometimes gold bracelets or necklaces, was the usual costume of the Godward maiden, the same type of costume which the ladies of Kensington and St John's Wood wore to the fashionable costumed soireés of the time.

    The features of the lovely dark-haired model who is the subject of Crytilla appear in many of Godward's paintings of this period when he was settled at his Fulham Road Studio in Kensington. She appears in The Tambourine Girl of 1906, Ismenia of 1908, A Grecian Girl of 1908 and Bellezza Pompeiana of 1909. Her name is not known but it is likely that, like virtually all of Godward's models, she was a professional and may have been introduced to Godward by a fellow artist. Other models such as Ethel Warwick, Florrie Bird and the Pettigrew sisters who posed for Godward in the 1890s were very well known models who made their reputations through artist's recommending their services.

    The owner of Crytilla had seen and admired the painting when it had been exhibited at the New Gallery in 1908 as Godward's last exhibit. Keen to purchase the picture he wrote to Godward on the 10th of June that year; 'I will hold to my offer of 200 guineas for your picture, but I think that I must stipulate that I ought to have an answer one way or the other this week' (letter in the collection of Gilbert Milo-Turner, quoted in Vern Swanson, John William Godward; The Eclipse of Classicism, 1997, pg. 220). The collector wrote again to Godward on the 16th of June 1908 to obtain clarification on the title of the painting; 'You have not answered my question as to how you came to select the name of Crytilla. Perhaps you would kindly let me know.' Godward had selected the names of classical women from history or mythology to emphasise the subject of ancient beauty and romance. However the names should not be regarded too literally and although Crytilla is a name which appears in a play by Eurypides, Godward's painting is a depiction of Classical beauty and not a particular classical heroine.

    Crytilla was one of the first paintings sold to Eugene Cremetti of Cremetti & Son who aquired Thomas McLean's gallery at number 7 Haymarket in the spring of 1908. Cremetti paid Godward £25 for the copyright of Crytilla a welcome addition to Godward's revenue. Two prints of the painting were made, a large black and white print later in 1908 and a smaller colour print in 1910. Until recently the appearance of Crytilla was only known from Cremetti's prints until its rediscovery and it is reproduced here for the first time.

    A study for this picture which had belonged to the art dealer Richard Howarth of Blackburn, is listed in Vern Swanson's book as Violets: A Reverie (study) and a fake version of this painting is also known. The study is said to be a pendant to Reverie (study) of 1908 and it is therefore likely that the the finished version of Reverie which is listed as unlocated in Mr Swanson's book, was a pendant to Crytilla.

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Other paintings by John William Godward:

Corilla
Corilla
Country House in the 18th Century
Country House in the 18th Century
Cytheris
Cytheris
Darning Day
Darning Day
John William GodwardJohn William Godward was a painter of classical genre scenes. His works embody the aesthetics of the circle of artists around Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912), often described as the ‘Greco-West Kensington School’, who saw the world of Ancient Greece as a Golden Age of poetic beauties and graceful languor. He excelled in oil and watercolour. His work remained consistent throughout a remarkable career spanning almost forty years, over which time he created a vital stylistic niche for his oeuvre.

Godward is best known for his highly finished paintings of pretty girls attired in classical robes, indeed, he became known as the master ‘classical tunic gown’ painter. The diaphanous fabrics of their Grecian tunics highlight their pearly flesh surrounded by marble statuary and balustrades amidst abundant flowers. He was admired for his archaeologically exact rendering of the surfaces of marble and the flowing movement of classical costume. These girls reminded one critic of ‘true English roses’ as much as Hellenic goddesses; it is this gentle beauty which is Godward’s greatest charm. He first worked in his father’s prosperous insurance firm before training with William Hoff Wonter (1814-1881) to become an architect. He became a friend of Wontner’s son, William Clarke (1857-1930) who was also a painter. Vern Swanson has persuasively argued that Godward probably attended the St John’s Wood Art School at Elm Tree Road and the Clapham School of Art in the early 1880’s.

Godward exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1887 and 1905 and at the Royal Society of British Artists, Suffolk Street, of which he became a member in 1889. Godward’s paintings were also often accepted to the Birmingham Royal Society of Artists’ Autumn Exhibitions. The art dealer Thomas McLean was an important champion of his work which was often included in his annual exhibitions. The prints made of Godward’s work by McLean and later by Eugène Cremetti introduced a wider audience to the artist’s work and guaranteed his popularity. He also exhibited internationally, making his début at the Paris Salon of 1899. In 1913 he was awarded the gold medal at the International Exhibition in Rome. The first years of the twentieth century saw a revival of interest in classicism, as prosperity rose throughout the British Empire. In fact, ‘the early Victorians believed that in ancient Rome they had found a parallel universe – a flawless mirror of their own immaculate world,” (cited in Iain Gale, ‘The Empire Looks Back’, Country Life, 30th May 1996, p.68.) This increased Godward’s popularity and success, with 1910 emerging as one of the best years for him as an artist.

Godward lived with his parents in Wimbledon until he achieved financial and critical success in 1889. He took a house at 34 St Leonard’s Terrace on the corner of Smith Street in Chelsea. He gave up his lease at Bolton Studios and rented a studio just around the corner. He filled his studio with marbles, ancient statues (mostly reproductions) and other antique objects, which he purchased from local shops and East End dealers, attempting to recreate a Graeco-Roman inspirational environment for his work. After a first trip to southern Italy in 1911, Godward moved to Rome where he remained until 1921. He took up residence in the Villa Stohl-Fern on the Monti Parioli near the Villa Borghese. The abundance of floral varieties and statuary in the villa’s elegant gardens appear in his work of this period. However, declining health and depression, meant Godward produced very few paintings in later life. Having returned to London in 1921, he committed suicide and was buried in Old Brompton Cemetery, Fulham.

The work of John William Godward is represented in the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth and the Manchester City Art Gallery.