The Trysting Place 

John William Godward created this oil painting titled, *The Trysting Place*. Godward was part of a late 19th-century artistic trend known as neo-classicism. This movement looked back to ancient Greece and Rome for its imagery. Here, a woman in classical dress stands in front of a wall, scratching a message with the date into the plaster. These images were made in Britain at a time of great social change. Industrialization and the growth of cities were radically changing people's lives. Artists turned to the past, imagining a more harmonious world in contrast to the alienation of modern life. The popularity of these paintings tells us a lot about the values of British society at the time, particularly ideas about beauty and femininity. We can learn more about this by looking at art criticism from the period, as well as the writings of social commentators and historians. The meaning of art lies in its social and institutional context.