'Epstein said that his tendency had “always been religious”, as most “great sculpture is occasioned by faith.” The curators have sought to draw out this tendency in works such as Maternity and Genesis by locating them within the cathedral’s Lady chapel to create associations with our Lady.
His Jewish upbringing in New York had made Epstein familiar with the stories of the Hebrew Bible, while his reading in his teens included the New Testament. Jacob and the Angel, on loan here from Tate Britain, is one among many sculptures on biblical themes, including later ecclesiastical commissions such as Madonna and Child for the Convent of the Holy Child Jesus in London, Christ in Majesty for Llandaff Cathedral, and St Michael’s Victory over the Devil for Coventry.'
For more on Jacob Epstein, see my April diary piece for Artlyst here.
Other of my pieces for Church Times can be found here. My writing for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here. See also Modern religious art: airbrushed from art history?
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Bruce Cockburn - Us All.
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