Study Of Campaspe 

John William Godward made this oil painting, Study of Campaspe, in England. Godward was part of the late neo-classicist movement. This movement took inspiration from the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome, as you can see from the setting and the subject of this painting. Campaspe was, in fact, a mythological woman from ancient Greece. According to legend, she was a mistress of Alexander the Great, who commissioned his court painter Apelles to paint her portrait. Alexander then gifted Campaspe to Apelles, realizing the painter had fallen in love with her. Godward would have been familiar with this story, as he visited Italy many times to study classical art. By depicting Campaspe in a nude, the artist is subtly commenting on the status of women at this time. Were they seen as muses and objects? Historical resources can offer an insight into the story of Campaspe and how the artist reinterprets it.