The Love Letter

What could possibly be more in tune with the depictions of innocent young women by John William Godward than this scene which places a maiden reading from a small, personal love letter.

These purer times, of which the artist's work would often draw us towards, helped to build a strong following for his career up until the entire Neo-Classicist movement fell entirely out of favour. The likes of Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Frederic Leighton were also heavily impacted by this change in tastes towards newer modern art movements that started to appear right across the European continent.

The Neo-Classicists are related in style to Academic artists, whose training was key to the approach that they took in their own careers. Some would criticise this for a lack of imagination or flair, but there can be no denying the beauty to be found in work by the likes of William-Adolphe Bouguereau or Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Art historians and the public have also not always agreed on who the best artists are.