Godiva Preparing to Ride through Coventry

George Jones's Godiva Preparing to Ride through Coventry of 1833 depicts the preparatory moment before the legendary ride — Lady Godiva gathering herself for the sacrifice she has agreed to make for the relief of the townspeople — rather than the more commonly depicted moment of the ride itself. This choice of the before rather than the during gave Jones the opportunity to focus on the psychological drama of resolved will rather than the spectacle of the nude figure on horseback. The subject was popular throughout the Victorian period, and different painters made different choices about which moment to depict. Jones's treatment in 1833 predates much of the Victorian Godiva imagery and offers a more psychological than erotic reading of the legend. The National Gallery's picture is an early Victorian contribution to this enduring British mythological subject.

Jones focuses on the figure of Godiva in preparation for her ride, giving the composition an interior quality and a moment of suspended action before the decisive movement. The handling is smooth and careful, with the figure rendered with idealized dignity rather than erotic emphasis. The setting and costume are given historical plausibility within the conventions of Victorian historical genre painting.