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Lot Essay
As in An Offering to Venus (sold in these Rooms, 13 July 2016, lot 126) A Red, Red Rose illustrates a beautiful young woman arranging roses in a bowl. The painting incorporates many attributes of Godward's best-known paintings. The marriage of brushwork to his extraordinary palette of colours results in a range of textures; the smooth, richly-coloured marbles contrasting with the soft, ephemeral fabric of the beautiful model's pink tunic, the sharpness of the girl's cold, harsh scissors, and the luxurious, delicate roses. The painting is an exercise in sensuousness, and Godward has masterfully laid out the composition drawing the eye across the canvas. The solid, vertical figure of the falling folds of the model's drapery echos the Roman architectural form of the side-table pilaster.
Godward spent the first part of 1920 in Rome, returning to England in April. In 1912 Godward had moved into the Villa Strohl-Fern, a group of artists' studios situated on Monti Parioli, dubbed the 'English Hill', near the Villa Borghese in Rome. It had a large garden filled with antique sculpture and formed the perfect backdrop for some of his greatest artistic achievements.
Godward spent the first part of 1920 in Rome, returning to England in April. In 1912 Godward had moved into the Villa Strohl-Fern, a group of artists' studios situated on Monti Parioli, dubbed the 'English Hill', near the Villa Borghese in Rome. It had a large garden filled with antique sculpture and formed the perfect backdrop for some of his greatest artistic achievements.