“Atalanta”
This lovely oil on canvas painting is by the English Neoclassical artist, John William Godward, from 1908 and is titled “Atalanta”. Godward actually painted two pieces with the same name, the other being from 1899. The model for this piece was a woman named Miss Goldsmith who posed for another of Godward’s paintings from the same year, “Athenais”.
The subject of this painting is a figure from Greek mythology. As the story goes, Atalanta was abandoned at birth, as her father had wanted a son. She was raised by a bear and grew up to be a powerful and beautiful huntress. After swearing allegiance to the virgin goddess, Diana, Atalanta refused to marry though she was highly sought after.
Atalanta was often approached with marriage proposals, so she decided to create a challenge. She said she would marry whoever beat her in a race. She would give her suitors a head start but carried her bow with her. If someone was actually about to beat her in the race, she would shoot him with an arrow. Each suitor was thus defeated.
Finally, Atalanta was racing against a young man named Hippomenes. It is the moment just before the start of the race that Godward depicted in this painting. Atalanta has her hair tied back, prepared for her race against Hippomenes. Unlike all her previous suitors, Hippomenes came prepared. Atalanta caught up to him during the race, so he dropped a golden apple that Venus had given him. It was a beautiful thing and when Atalanta passed it, she stopped to pick it up and admire it. This delay was enough to allow Hippomenes to win the race. The two were married and were madly in love.
Atalanta and Hippomenes were quite taken with each other, as new young lovers often are, and could not keep their hands off of each other. When Zeus spied them making love within a sacred temple, the god of gods was enraged and turned both Atalanta and Hippomenes into lions.
“Atalanta” is a prime example of neoclassicism in art. The period costuming that Atalanta is wearing is painted with authenticity and detail. Neoclassicism was pervasive throughout art culture at this time, including the decorative arts, literature, theater, and music, which is why Godward needed to create his pieces with such authenticity. There was always an underlying fear that his audience would notice any errors and draw attention to them.
Godward was also an amateur archaeologist and often visited classical sites, sometimes acquiring artifacts that he would later include in his paintings. This hobby and access to original resources helped Godward with his authenticity.
“Atalanta” sold in 2008 in a Sotheby’s auction for $362,500 USD and is currently in a private collection.
For more on John William Godward, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
