Ancient Pastimes 1916

John William Godward made this painting, Ancient Pastimes, sometime around the turn of the last century, and he used oil paint on canvas. The level of finish in this picture is wild – like, how did he get the marble to look so real? It's all about the details in the mark-making, how he’s feathered and blended the pigments. Look at how Godward captures the light on the woman’s golden dress. It’s all very smooth, and he even manages to give the impression of folds in the fabric. You can’t see his brushstrokes or any real texture to speak of, but the more you look, the more the image comes alive. In contrast, the stone statue behind her is painted to look flatter and more stylized. It’s like, she’s alive and the statue is dead. Godward reminds me a little of Alma Tadema – they both had this super-realistic approach that makes you wonder whether they were trying to copy reality, or compete with it.