Free shipping on orders over $60$5 flat rate under $604 items: 10% off · 8 items: 20% off
You save $98.47
Free shipping over $60 · 30-day returns · Dispatched in 1–2 business days
Nothing softens a home office like a painted surface. Ismenia by John William Godward arrives as a hand painted oil painting on canvas, offering the fine art detail, soft gradients, and tactile finish that fine art oil painting shoppers look for.
1908
Oil on canvas
32 x 26 in. (81.2 x 66 cm)
Throughout his oeuvre, Godward focused on classical subjects—almost always a woman in robes placed among marble terraces, and painted with degree of skill that matches that of Sir Lawerence Alma-Tadema, but with a monumentality characteristic of Frederic, Lord Leighton (Christopher Wood, Olympian Dreamers, Victorian Classical Painters 1860-1914, London, 1983, p. 247). In a photograph proving Leighton's influence, a model in Godward's studio stands before a fireplace, behind which is a large framed print of Leighton's famous The Garden of the Hesperides, where the female figures have a heavy languor similar to Godward's Ismenia. Slouched in a fur-lined chair, a young beauty plucks a pair of cherries from a shimmering abalone shell. The highly saturated purples and ochre in her tunic contrast with the warm alabaster of her skin and the earthy tones of the multi-chrome marbles framing her figure. While such color contrasts may seem an invention by the artist, ancient Romans often brashly mixed brightly painted statues and architectural decorations with marble and granite interiors (Swanson, p. 221). The large blocks of color and smooth, expansive surfaces combined with the placement of the figure immediately against the picture plane elevate this portrait of a maiden to monumental scale. The composition's title may derive from the Greek Ismeme, the Naiad nymph of the Ismenian spring of Thebes, daughter of the river-God Asopos, and wife of King Argos, who was renowned for her strength and courage (the more recognizable spelling of "Ismeme" is the title of Godward's 1922 composition) (Swanson p. 246). Certainly Godward's vibrant woman suggests the mythical quality of her namesake. However, such connotations are secondary to the composition's decorative harmonies and the female figure's graceful, sensual form. Ismenia was the first oil Cremetti & Son handled for Godward upon acquiring the gallery of Thomas McLean, largely credited for building the artist's fame (Swanson, p. 87).
Collectors often choose this fine art image when searching for fine art oil painting that feels substantial rather than decorative or disposable.
Materials matter for refined wall decor. That is why this piece is built on artist-grade canvas with lightfast oil colors, applied by hand rather than output from a printer, and sealed for long-term display.
Style it over a fireplace, behind a reading chair, or along a staircase. Wherever it goes, this refined oil painting wall decor adds the layered color that only a hand painted canvas provides.
| Size | Price |
|---|---|
| 20 X 24 in | $98.48 |
| 24 X 36 in | $153.48 |
| 30 X 40 in | $197.48 |
| 36 X 48 in | $261.98 |
| 48 X 72 in | $506.48 |
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.
