Gloucester Cathedral has been a centre for creativity for centuries. Dedicated to the glory of God, many individuals have worked tirelessly to create a masterpiece of English architecture. From its very beginning in 1089, to the present day, art and sculpture has been at the very heart of this magnificent building.
As part of the 900th anniversary celebration of Abbot Serlo laying the foundation stone of St Peter’s Abbey (now
Gloucester Cathedral) in 1089, the South Ambulatory Chapel was refitted with a
new stained glass window by
Thomas Denny. Depicting the New Testament story of Thomas in the presence of the risen Christ in the centre light, the windows either side are based on Psalm 148, praising God’s creation. The triptych illuminates the chapel in a magnificent blue light.
Commissioned in 2013 to create a window in honour of
Ivor Gurney, Gloucestershire’s famous poet composer, Denny’s intricate stained glass can also be seen in the north chantry chapel in the
Lady Chapel. Gurney’s poetry was inspired by his beloved Gloucestershire countryside and many of the scenes are recognisable local landmarks. In 2016, Denny was commissioned to create a further window to commemorate the life and works of another composer,
Gerald Finzi. The window is another stunning 8 light piece located within the same chapel as the Gurney window and was kindly funded by the
Finzi Trust.
There are windows by Denny in several parish churches in Gloucestershire, and also in Tewkesbury Abbey, Hereford Cathedral and Durham Cathedral. My sabbatical visit came while following the art trail created by the Revd David New as a
guide to stained glass windows created by Thomas Denny for churches in the Three-Choirs area (Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester Dioceses). See
here and
here for more images.
David writes that: "
Thomas Denny, born in London, trained in drawing and painting at Edinburgh College of Art. One day a friend asked him to consider creating a stained glass window for a church in Scotland (Killearn 1983). Thus began a remarkable career that has produced over 30 stained glass windows in Cathedrals and Churches of this country. Tom’s love for painting and drawing, especially the things of nature, is evident in his windows ... All of Tom’s windows express biblical themes and are conducive to silent meditation. Find a seat; feel the colours; give time for the details to emerge; reflect."
Denny has "pioneered a new and exciting technique of acid-etching, staining and painting on glass, which creates an astonishing movement of light and colour across the surface of the window." The overall abstraction of his conception "is modified by the inclusion within that abstraction of "hidden" figurative elements which make his windows a source of personal pilgrimage for those encountering them for the first time." His is "an art form that uses landscape, human and animal references, and an emotionally intense use of colour to produce an image that is profoundly spiritual in its archetypal and mythical references."
Sophie Hacker has explained how, when she was first offered the chance to design a stained glass window, Denny promptly invited her to his studio in Dorset saying with characteristic generosity, ‘I’ll teach you everything you need to know about making a window’. And he did, teaching her not only about acid work but also sensitivity to context: "choosing appropriate colour palettes for the architecture, working the surfaces so that a new contemporary window feels ‘at home’ in an ancient building, and teaching me about the structural possibilities and limitations of glass and leading."
The Cathedral also has modern group of the nativity, sculpted by
Josefina de Vasconcellos, with the composition arranged as a triangle, Joseph’s head forming the apex, the reclining Mary as the base, and the infant Christ held in the centre.
Born in England in 1904, the only child of a Brazilian diplomat and an English Quaker mother, de Vasconcellos was active as a sculptor from the early 1920s. A younger contemporary of Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, in the years following the First World War she studied at the Regent Street Polytechnic, then in Paris with Bourdelle, then in Florence with Andreotti. As an artist she followed her own individual path, always believing that sculpture had a role to play as an inspirational force in society. In her extraordinary life she faced many challenges and disappointments, yet, sustained by her sincere Christian beliefs, managed to continue working into great old age. She died on 20 July 2005.
Versions of her best-known work
Reconciliation now stand outside Coventry Cathedral, in the Hiroshima Peace Park, at the site of the Berlin Wall and in the grounds of Stormont Castle, Belfast. Many of her other works are in churches, cathedrals and private homes throughout the UK and overseas including Holy Family (
Liverpool Cathedral,
Manchester Cathedral) and Mary and Child (
St. Paul's Cathedral). In 1959 she was commissioned 'to construct an annual
Nativity scene made of life-sized figures,' (made for World Refugee Year, an international effort to raise awareness of, and support for, the refugees across the globe) 'which became a regular fixture of the
Christmas display [of
St Martin-in-the-Fields] in
Trafalgar Square.'
'The
message of God’s love permeates her art, for Josefina was convinced that if people loved God, they would love and respect each other, that this was the way to world peace. It was also the way to inculcate respect for the environment, and was ultimately the hope for the future.' More information about her extraordinary life and art can be found in
Josefina de Vasconcellos, Her Life and Art.
Iain McKillop's
Lady Chapel Triptych sits within the mediaeval reredos of the Lady Chapel, damaged during the Reformation. It represents the Crucifixion, Pieta and Resurrection of Christ. The panels stand c 7 ft high. These are set in the broken mediaeval stone niches behind the altar. When he was commissioned for this altarpiece, McKillop and the Cathedral wanted to create a specifically Christian image suggesting the promise of Salvation on this wall ravaged in the Reformation when the sculpture reredos and glass was smashed. McKillop has also painted the altarpiece in the Musicians' Chapel by the Lady Chapel.
Hosting a varied programme of regular exhibitions, Gloucester Cathedral works with many local artists and communities to deliver high quality events, most notably hosting the the Crucible exhibitions in partnership with
Gallery Pangolin in 2010 and 2014. These two world-class sculpture exhibitions brought together some of the finest examples of 20th and 21st century sculpture and attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors from far and wide.
While at Gloucester Cathedral I saw a performance of dance based on Christian imagery by
Moving Visions Dance Theatre. The dances made by this group attempt to realise numinous experience and expression through dance: “There are indeed things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical.”
"The wonderful thing about God is that he does not communicate in one way. We are made by him in his image, so he knows how best to make himself known to each of us individually as well as collectively. Experience and listening in prayer gradually teaches us ways in which he speaks to us best ...
It has been said that we never understand a work of art until we take the same amount of time contemplating it as the artist took in conceiving and making it. That’s impossible for most of us. But by deeply contemplating a work of sacred art we have the opportunity of exploring many of the inner truths of our faith."
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Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young -
Carry On.
