The Peacock Fan 1912

John William Godward painted this image of a woman holding a peacock fan, with oil on canvas. Look at the detail in the fabric; see how it drapes and folds. I bet he spent hours on that. It’s like he wanted to capture every single ripple and shadow. The way the light catches the gold sash around her waist, it’s almost sculptural, like he’s carving the fabric out of paint. You can almost feel the weight and texture of the material. Godward wasn’t trying to hide anything, I mean he even made the paint look like velvet. And take a look at the cool marble behind her, the way he makes it glow. It's as if he's trying to preserve a moment, freeze it in time. It reminds me a little of Lawrence Alma-Tadema, all those perfect scenes of antiquity. But Godward, there's a melancholy there, something deeper, a feeling that beauty is fleeting.