I first became aware of portraiture by the Swedish painter Alexander Roslin (1718-1793) when I stumbled on a copy of the same portrait Roslin had painted in 1768 of his artist wife, Marie- Suzanne Giroust. The copy was painted in oil on canvas board, measured approximately 18 x 14 inches, and was signed and dated in the lower right, "G. Godkin 1951". On the reverse, "G. Godkin 1951" was written in oil paint in what appeared to be the hand of the artist, and in pencil were the words “Lady with a Veil.” Affixed to the back was a gallery label from Hartley's Picture Crafts, Victoria, B.C. and a notation for delivery to a Mrs. W. Godkin of Kenora, Ontario by express COD. I was intrigued.

Lady With a Veil by Alexander Roslin

Lady With a Veil by G. Godkin after Alexander Roslin

The original painting by Roslin entitled Lady with a Veil is in the permanent collection of The National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Roslin's admirable realistic depiction of his wife is alluring, reverential and provocative. It evokes a sense of femininity, mystery and seduction, and pays homage to the committed loving relationship that both appear to share and enjoy.

How did a mid-20th century. copy by G. Godkin come to be addressed to a W. Godkin in Kenora, presumably around the same time as the painting was produced? I doubt that the painting was copied from an image in a book as large-scale colour reproductions of relatively obscure works were probably not available at that time and, of course, this would presuppose that the National Museum had licensed commercial reproductions of artworks from its collection.

I surmised that the artist G. Godkin had been at the museum in the early 1950s, and had painted a copy from the original with the intention of mailing it to his or her relative in Kenora. Possibly it could have arrived in Victoria as part of the household belongings of a family which had settled on Vancouver Island.

A number of portraits of Imperial Russian statesmen have been attributed to Alexander Roslin including those of Ivan Betskoi (1704-1795) and Ivan Shuvalov (1727-1797). Betskoi was a Russian school reformer who served as advisor to Catherine II on matters of education. He was President of the Imperial Academy of the Arts from 1764-94, and established a unified system of public education in Russia. Shuvalov was the first Russian Minister of Education, and he actively participated in the founding of Russian theatre, university, and arts academy institutions.

I am reminded of an admonition by one of my professors who exhorted any historian to avoid looking at historical pictures through contemporary eyes. What were the artist's intentions in painting a picture of his wife? I should think that no one knows but the artist himself. Was Roslin making a statement about political ideology and male power or telling us how much he was in love with his extraordinarily beautiful wife?

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