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Upgrade your walls with A Tryst - John William Godward - Oil Painting for Entryway. Every fine art reproduction is painted entirely by hand, so the surface carries the depth and variation of an original oil painting rather than the flatness of a digital canvas print.
1912
Oil on canvas
50 x 31 in. (127 x 78.7 cm)
In Godward's A Tryst, young Roman woman dressed in a diaphanous pale yellow toga is seated on a marble terrace, raising her hand to shadow her face against the glare of the Mediterranean sun as she gazes directly out of the picture. The viewer has become the object of her attention, greeted by her open expression, inviting eyes and the faint suggestion of a smile. The beautifully studied flowers that surround her are poppies of varying colors and varieties. Victorian interest in the revival of classicism and ancient Rome, prevalent at the beginning of the twentieth century, promoted the importance of formal and sensual qualities over visual narrative. In Greco-Roman mythology, the red poppy symbolized forgetfulness, sleep and resurrection, being thought to grow along the banks of the river Lethe as it entered Hades. It is not likely Godward's intention to make this Classical allusion and the poppies appear to have been included for decorative rather than allegorical reasons. Here, the flowers have a broader symbolism of beauty and fertility, a botanical parallel with the woman that they surround.
In 1912, Godward is known to have painted four large canvases of a single model posed on a seaside balcony or amid a garden of oleander and cypresses. In each of these works, including A Tryst, Reverie, Absence makes the Heart Grow Fonder, and By the Wayside, there is an implication of a romantic narrative that gives the paintings an erotic charge, emphasized by flowers in full bloom and ripened fruit. The composition also displays many of the hallmarks of the aesthetics of Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, made popular in paintings such as Ask me no More (1886, private collection), Pleading (1876, Guildhall Art Gallery, London) and Welcome Footsteps (1883, private collection). The oleander was a favourite flower of Tadema's and appears prominently in Love's Jewelled Fetter (1895, private collection), Unconscious Rivals (1893, Bristol City Art Gallery) and was the subject of An Oleander (1882, private collection). Despite the influences that Godward no doubt absorbed, his art had a distinctive style of his own. His vision of the Antique age was of a golden utopia, a world of marble terraces by the ocean where the sun is warm enough to persuade his earthly goddesses to eschew labor while surrounded by flowers and azure sea.
According to Dr. Vern Swanson, who wrote the definitive study of Godward's work and oeuvre, A Tryst was likely owned by Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji Jadeja, the Maharajah Jam Sahib of Nawanagar (1872-1933) who played cricket for England and is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time. Although he was from the family of Jadejas who claimed direct descent from Lord Krishna, 'Ranji' was an Anglophile with a great passion for British art and who was collecting at a time when the likes of Frederic, Lord Leighton, Frank Dicksee, John William Waterhouse, Marcus Stone, and Godward were little appreciated. The Maharajah amassed a large collection of Victorian pictures during the first few decades of the twentieth century including several paintings by Godward.
The fine art subject is rebuilt stroke by stroke in oil, giving the finished canvas the depth expected of vintage oil painting wall decor.
From primer to varnish, the work is done manually on artist-grade canvas. The absence of digital printing is deliberate: it keeps the fine art brushwork visible and gives the vintage oil painting wall decor a museum-like finish.
As entryway wall decor, this canvas brings color and texture without visual noise. It scales well from a small study to a large entryway feature wall, and it is a reliable choice when shopping for fine art oil painting as a gift.
Browse our John William Godward Paintings selection for related fine art canvases, or commission this fine art image in a custom size. Every order is a hand painted oil painting, never a printed poster.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 24 in | $109.98 |
| 24 X 36 in | $167.98 |
| 30 X 40 in | $216.48 |
| 36 X 48 in | $292.98 |
| 48 X 72 in | $554.98 |
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.
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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.
