Can you see what it is yet?

I had a great day a recently visiting an exhibition of the work of Stanley Spencer at York Art Gallery with my friend, the Artist. Spencer was a British artist of the 20th century who often portrayed aspects of his Christian faith in the context the village of Cookham in Berkshire where he lived.

The exhibition was a great collection showing a range of his work including these self portraits, giving visitors a real insight into the man himself. I particularly liked his honesty, brutally shown at times, and the natural way in which he saw the spiritual as part of every day life.

The Artist taught me a lot. He pointed out aspects of composition, structure and development of the artists skill which I would never have seen. I was really intrigued as he pointed out the scrapes of paint on the canvas as Spencer struggled with bits of some paintings, which told of inner struggles and of "making it work". I was able to add some background to the biblical stories and theology of Spencer's paintings but found myself fascinated by how he committed it to canvas in a way in which the viewer is intrigued and made to think.

But the picture which really captivated both of us was this one, entitled Mending Cowls in Cookham. The thing is, Spencer desribed this picture as his most spritual painting. But why? Unlike other pictures, there is no bible story, depiction of Christ, religious motifs or anything which is immediately obviously Christian!

So what makes it spiritual? Can you see what it is yet?


Thanks to Big H for a great day.