The Bouquet

The Bouquet features a delightful courtyard setting with Godward carefully making use of lighting in order to give an impression of seclusion.

Warm colours are drawn out from the external walls of the building and a flurry of different flowers add further visual interest. The only divergence from Godward's normal approach in this painting would be how he removes any view into the distance and just concentrates on the items immediately in the lady's vicinity. This does not alter the geographical influence, though, with the architecture continuing the Roman and Greek styles.

There is a large tiger skin laid out on the floor and the artist is known to have studied animals in great detail in order to ensure these items were accurately depicted. He would continue to use them in other paintings too. They gave a sense of wealth whilst also drawing in more colours into each composition. During Victorian times it was rare to get the opportunity to see these great creatures in person and so skins like this or stuffed animals were a popular alternative. One can only assume that the same can be said for Ancient Rome and Greece, too, as these were the themes used by Godward in his paintings.