John William Godward

W. S. Marchant

Christie's, London, 1 June 1917, lot 115 (consigned by the above)

Eugene Cremetti, London (acquired from the above)

Dowell's, Edinburgh, 17 December 1932

Priory Gallery, Gloucestershire

Peter Nahum, London (acquired by 1992)

Christie's, New York, 11 November 1998, lot 100

M.S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans (acquired from the above)

Acquired from the above by the present owner

(possibly) Paris, Salon, 1906

Adrian Vincent, A Companion to Victorian and Edwardian Artists, Devon 1991, pp. 114-115, illustrated (as Girl with Tambourine)

Vern G. Swanson, J. W. Godward 1861-1922: The Eclipse of Classicism, Suffolk 2018, p. 101, p. 105, pl. 103, illustrated in color and p. 294, no. 1906.12

In Tambourine Girl, Godward depicts one of his favorite Italian models as a Neoclassical maiden, centrally set against an expressively carved marble frieze. Godward’s extraordinary technical mastery is evident in the handling of the young woman’s diaphanous purple coa vestis stola (the female variation of the ancient Roman toga), and classically inspired tan palla (Roman shawl). The artist sensually contrasts these vivid gossamer fabrics with the expertly rendered three-dimensionality of the cool, white frieze, which in turn is ensconced within a wall built of blue-black veined marble. The finely sculpted piece of stone shows several male figures in celebration as they dance and play musical instruments. In a clever juxtaposition of foreground and background features, Godward intentionally relates the details of the frieze with the subject of the central figure; she too will soon be playing her musical instrument.

Rather than paint his model in the middle of a dance, Godward places her in contrapposto, a signature pose of the Greek classical style also adopted by the Renaissance masters, whereby the body stands at rest with most of its weight shifted to one leg. Just as the warm-colored, soft fabric of her costume contrasts with the cold, hard marble, the model’s relaxed pose is in opposition to the dynamism of the dancing figures behind her. Three years later, Godward would paint a similar scene in which a Greco-Roman beauty also stands in contrapposto before a marble wall, but this time the figures in the ensconced frieze are female and portrayed as graceful maidens as composed as the model herself. By making small, subtle changes to setting, prop, or costume, Godward created a series of alluring scenes of classical beauty. Like other artists of the Victorian period such a Frederic, Lord Leighton, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema, and Albert Moore, among others, Godward’s allegiance to Antique themes remained consistent throughout his career as they became synonymous with an art of great aesthetic beauty and harmony.