A small work in canvas in response to the XV Station of the Cross at the Royal Memorial Chapel.
The Chapel of Christ the King RMAS features an unusual fifteenth Station of the Cross. The piece is made even more remarkable by its foregrounding of the interior of the empty tomb, the figure in the distant sunlight, an overall sense of light out of darkness.. in marked contrast to other more famous depictions.
The composition remained with me, in limbo. It returned recently, to be literally resurrected, as a small tonal study in egg tempera. The doorway to the Tomb is simply the ground of an underlying gesso panel.
An interesting reflection is the relative parcity in art of the Tomb compared to the Cross, an example perhaps of Pliny’s observation regarding thunder and lightning.
The Tomb (2022)
Egg tempera and gesso panel on linen.
35x25cm
NFS
[…] Shuffle Selects is the first in a series of invitation exhibitions showing recent work by contemporary artists across the city. John will be showing his new work in egg tempera The Tomb. […]
[…] The Tomb is a small but carefully executed work in egg tempera and gesso on linen, mounted in a gilded frame. It is essentially a contemplative interpretation of the fifteenth Station of the Cross. […]