Pyrallis (1918) | John William Godward | Painting Art Print | Wall Frame

With her veil of soft, rose-hued material and her downward expression, Pyrallis is a particularly modest and introspective study of female beauty by an artist who mastered the subject and made it the obsession of his artistic life. Bright sunlight is reflected from the calm waters beyond her window and the cool white marble, creating a subtle effect of shadow and warmth on the model’s face and neck. These clever effects of light and colour add to the suggestion of Mediterranean sun and it is significant that the picture was painted in Rome.

Pyrallis was painted during the first decade that Godward lived in Rome. He had visited Italy a few times before but in 1912 it seems that he resolved to move permanently to Rome. According to a family story, the move to Rome was due to Godward falling in love with one of the professional models he had met there during previous visits – an affair which shocked his family so deeply that his mother never forgave him. It is not known whether the girl reciprocated his love and she is only known by her soubriquet 'Dolcissima' (The Castaway) but she was undoubtedly the model for a series of depictions of beautiful Roman women painted over several years. She is probably the model for Pyrallis, painted six years after he first met her.

 'Godward's art was more than escapist; it was purposely beautiful in an age plunging headlong into atrocity. He sought to portray peace, feminine charm and ideal perfection by marvellously painted and composed classical pictures of beautiful women in halcyon marble environments. In this he was far more than a mere painter of 'beauties' but rather a creator of an imaginary world of bygone serenity painted with the utmost clarity and idealism.'