A Lily Pond 1917

John William Godward made "A Lily Pond" with oil on canvas sometime around the turn of the century. Look at the woman's orange dress, and how it seems to vibrate against the pink of her sash. Godward is really thinking about color and light, creating a mood. The painting is so smooth, so finished; there are no brushstrokes, no trace of the artist’s hand. It almost feels like you could reach out and touch the cool marble she's sitting on. I can imagine Godward in his studio, carefully mixing his paints, layering them on the canvas, and trying to capture the ephemeral beauty of a moment. Maybe he felt like he was preserving something precious that would otherwise fade away. It reminds me of other painters like Lawrence Alma-Tadema, who were also obsessed with recreating classical scenes with incredible detail and realism. These guys all seemed to be in conversation with one another, each pushing the boundaries of what painting could do. Ultimately, painting is about a search and an attempt to make sense of our world.