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A Congenial Task - John William Godward - Canvas Oil Painting brings gallery-caliber art into everyday spaces. This fine art oil painting is a 100% hand painted oil painting on canvas, created for buyers who want genuine heritage canvas wall art instead of a mass-produced poster or paper print.
1915
Oil on canvas
30 x 30 in. (76.2 x 76.2 cm)
Private Collection.
Among Godward's most successful compositions are those in which lovely maidens are involved with every-day tasks, such as playing with pet kittens, stepping from the bath, or simply absorbed in dreamy reverie. A Congenial Task is particularly unusual in the artist's oeuvre, as it depicts a woman braiding her hair, a rare subject for the artist, save for two large works of nude women gathering their locks with bands of fabric, Venus Binding Her Hair and The Toilette (both held by private collections). The present work is part of a tradition from antiquity of depicting women arranging their tresses. Godward would have known the British Museum's various marbles, bronzes, and terracotta figures of Venus or Aphrodite fixing their hair after emerging from the sea. He would have also been familiar with similar scuptures held by the Vatican and the Capitoline Museums in Rome, Godward's home city for many years. Classical artifacts had also inspired many of Godward's contemporaries like Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema who used the Capitoline's Esquiline Venus to inform the nude figure who binds her hair for the study of the female body in A Sculptor's Model (1877) while Edward Poynter used the same inspiration for his Diadumene (1884) whose model ties up her hair after removing her robes in preparation for the bath. Rather than depicting his model undressed, Godward makes the challenging choice to capture each fold of rich fabric of her robes, tied and wrapped in daring color combinations of saturated maroon, deep purple, and gem-like blue. While the model's activity is inspired by classical examples, her pose is decidedly more realistic, as she sits with her legs curled up, eyes downcast toward her fingers, which grasp the strands of her thick hair as she makes a braid. Rather than using multiple props or artifacts to support the scene, Godward employs his brilliant mastery of marble to create a setting of illusionistic detail. The variegated veins and shifting colors of the stone contrast the soft fur of the spotted leopard skin throw.
Though related to Antique sculpture as well as the Renaissance examples of Veronese and Titian who painted women at their toilet, Godward's classical ideal of beauty was ultimately based upon Alma-Tadema, Poynter, and Frederic, Lord Leighton -- evoking a world of idle contemplation and idyllic beauty, in which nothing is amiss and life is devoted to the daily pursuit of pleasure.
The fine art subject is rebuilt stroke by stroke in oil, giving the finished canvas the depth expected of heritage oil painting wall decor.
We use a 100% hand-painted process: stretched artist-grade canvas, layered oil pigment, and a final protective varnish. There are no inkjet prints or mechanical reproductions in this collection — just a painted fine art artwork made to order.
Build an entryway gallery wall around this fine art oil painting, or let it stand alone as a single statement. The hand painted canvas finish keeps the fine art composition looking intentional in both classic and contemporary rooms.
Whether the search term is fine art oil painting, entryway wall decor, or heritage oil painting wall decor, this hand painted canvas delivers the same thing: a real painted surface, made to your chosen dimensions.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 20 in | $99.98 |
| 24 X 24 in | $130.48 |
| 30 X 30 in | $165.48 |
| 36 X 36 in | $239.98 |
| 40 X 40 in | $279.98 |
| 48 X 48 in | $390.48 |
The sizes shown are the reproduction canvas sizes we paint to order. The dimensions given in a work's description refer to the original artwork and will differ from the sizes offered here. Not sure? Read the size guide or e-mail us.
Free on orders over $60; a flat $5 below that. Dispatched in 1–2 business days; 30 days to send it back. Full policy.
Every canvas is painted by hand in oils on artist-grade stretched canvas, with an extra blank border left for framing. How to care for your painting.
Measurements are on the size guide, or e-mail [email protected] and we reply within one business day.
