By the Wayside 1912

Curator: Before us is "By the Wayside," an oil painting completed in 1912 by John William Godward, a notable figure in the Classical-Realist style. Editor: The figure has an air of such melancholic stillness! The painting almost seems suspended in time, despite the rich colors used. The textural treatment of the drapery in contrast with the smooth marble, it's striking. Curator: Godward excelled at capturing precisely those contrasts, employing layered paint strokes and meticulous details. Let’s think about the socio-economic contexts here for a second: note that Godward positions a single female figure alongside symbolic abundance of produce. Consider this within the legacy of academic training itself, particularly, I think, about what’s lost to history. The costuming, setting, marblework - a paean to high craft; but to what end and at what opportunity cost? Editor: Agreed! Look how this "high art" tradition seemingly glosses over those less privileged. Consider the actual laborers that extracted and shaped the marble used to support that beautiful woman, for instance. What a divide exists between the object of admiration here versus those who provide its trappings. How were his paints themselves mixed and sourced, what was in them? Where did his marble and fabric come from, were the figures paid? These are the kind of questions the materiality forces. Curator: Those questions are certainly important, but to center solely on those social costs is, I argue, limiting. Godward had the means and skill, even if we reject its setting, to paint form. In studying classical realism we also reveal a focus on line, color, and spatial relationships. It reflects its formal education, for better or for worse. The careful contrapposto of the figure, that the head is tilted in response to the shoulder - it contributes to the mood here of resigned elegance. Editor: I suppose that by emphasizing the intrinsic forms, Godward certainly conveys, on the surface, that ideal of beauty. But I’m constantly pulled back to the fact of its artifice. To not challenge the systems propping that beauty seems negligent at best. The artist does provide clues with this basket of produce... Are we meant to partake, consume it along with the image itself? Curator: Whether complicit or simply celebratory, Godward's technical prowess shines through, even a century later. Thank you for expanding my perspective here today. Editor: And to you, for challenging me to view the work in a slightly new light.