Campaspe 1896

John William Godward created this painting, Campaspe, using oil on canvas. As we observe this artwork, we should consider how it reflects the Victorian era's fascination with classical antiquity, yet also reveals its complex relationship to the female form. Godward, working within the late Neoclassical tradition, here presents us with a nude Campaspe. She was a mythological woman who was immortalized through painting by Apelles, court painter to Alexander the Great. The presentation of Campaspe embodies the male gaze of the period. Godward's representation blends an idealization of beauty with a subtle eroticism, reflective of the Victorian era’s contradictory attitudes towards sexuality and the female body. What is interesting here is the implied narrative; Campaspe was considered to be the lover of Alexander the Great, and he relinquished her to Apelles because of his talent. However, the woman in the painting seems almost defiant, empowered. This painting, therefore, invites us to reflect on the representation of women in art and the power dynamics inherent in the act of viewing.