The Old Old Story 2 by John William Godward

Victorian Neoclassicism and the Aesthetic Movement find a magnificent illustration in this work centered on the intimacy of an ancient couple. Through this composition entitled “The Old Old Story 2”, the great painter John William Godward recreates a gallant scene bathed in a soft Mediterranean light. The work bears witness to an absolute search for formal beauty and decorative harmony, where the rigor of classical lines serves as an ideal framework for a hushed and poetic narrative.

A young woman with dark hair adorned with a golden headband is reclined languidly on a white marble daybed. She wears a pleated scarlet stola and a large purple-violet drapery wrapped around her hips, while she holds a large fan of peacock feathers. Near her, a young man with a haughty bearing leans over the low stone wall, dressed in a brown knife-pleated tunic and watching his companion with a tender smile. The seat is luxuriously covered with a tiger skin with dense stripes and a spotted leopard skin. On the horizon, under a clear blue sky dotted with light clouds, a calm azure sea is bordered by distant hills and large verdant trees.

The craftsman’s artisanal expertise is asserted in a grandiose manner in the striking rendering of the animal fur and the polished marble. His flawless oil technique allows him to capture the silky texture of the complex draperies and the iridescent reflections of the peacock feathers with perfect realism. This technical virtuosity confirms his immense plastic genius.