BB art

 

STATIONS OF THE CROSS

Brangwyn was brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, his father having converted in about 1858, but he did not attend church regularly and his knowledge of the Bible was minimal. As he grew older he grew inscreasingly superstitious and started producing more religious work and inserting his self portrait as if seeking redemption for past wrong-doings. He created a number of Stations of the Cross, the first being for Father Thomas Ryan's Leper Mission (S3546) in Pretoria (1920-1922), now belonging to the Archdiocese of Pretoria. In 1920 he was also commissioned to paint the Stations for Arras Cathedral (S2545). This series was to be in oils and reproductions would be distributed to other churches in the area in memory of the devestation caused by the war. Unfortunately this series was unfinished, probably due to the deaths in 1924 of Lucy Brangwyn and his friend Thoephile Steinlen who was responsible for Brangwyn gaining the commission. One of his models for christ, Cervi, died in the same year. A woodcut series (S4163) was completed between 1930 and 1934 with the help of William de Belleroche. In 1934 Brangwyn started a lithograph series (S4163), completed 1935. Two editions were printed on sycamore - these are in the Monastery of St Andre, Zevenkerken and the Jesuit College, Campion Hall, Oxford. The lithograph series was also reproduced as The Way of the Cross. An Interpretation by Frank Brangwyn RA, with a commmentary by G K Chetserton, who termed Brangwyn 'one of the most masculine of modern men of genius'. In 1946 Brangwyn sent drawings for Stations of the Cross to St Joseph's church, Stokesley (S2990) which were interpreted by the Italian prisoners of war (the church and contents was later destroyed by fire). A further set of stations was painted in oil on oak panels for the Marist College, Middlesbrough (S2989) between 1937 and 1938 - these are identical in size and design to the lithograph series and the colouring is rather brash - I am tempted to think that most of the work was completed by Brangwyn's assistant E K Center.

Examples of the fourteen stations of the Cross are reproduced below, in order of the cycle (the number in brackets following the title of each Brangwyn work indicates the number by which the work is identified in the Catalogue Raisonne). Paul Liss has kindly given me permission to use images from his website.

1st woodcut
2nd litho
3rd woodcut
1st Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death (S1884), 1934, woodcut on paper, 42.8x46.5cm, multiple ownership. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p127. Lit: Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p6. Brangwyn has inserted his self portrait on the left of Christ. 2nd Station: Jesus is Made to Bear the Cross (S1897), 1935, lithograph, 76x82cm, multiple ownership. Studies: Study on tracing paper, Liss Fine Art. Original zinc lithographic plate, Liss Fine Art. Christ Carrying Cross, Scarborough Art Gallery. Exh: Etchings and Lithographs by Frank Brangwyn RA LLD, Brighton Public Art Galleries, 1935, Cat 2; Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 2007. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p177. Ill: G K Chesterton (commentary), The Way of the Cross, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935; L'Artisan Liturgique, 1935, No 37, p762; 'Le Chemin de Croix', Bulletin Paroissial Liturgique, 1936, Vol 7, p4; Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p66. Brangwyn has included portraits of himself and his dog on the right. 3rd Station: Jesus falls for the First Time Under the Cross (S4370), 1934, woodcut on paper, 42.8x46.5cm, multiple ownership. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p156.
4th litho
5th litho
6th litho
4th Station: Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother (S1899), 1935, lithograph, 76x82cm, multiple ownership. Studies: Study on tracing paper, Liss Fine Art. Christ Being Comforted, and Man carrying Cross, both Scarborough Art Gallery. Exh: Etchings and Lithographs by Frank Brangwyn RA LLD, Brighton Public Art Galleries, 1935, Cat 4; Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 2007. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p177. Lit:: Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p66. Ill: G K Chesterton (commentary), The Way of the Cross, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935; 'Le Chemin de Croix', Bulletin Paroissial Liturgique, 1936, Vol 7, p6. Brangwyn has included portraits of himself and his dog on the right. 5th Station: The Cross is Laid Upon Simon of Cyrene (S1900), 1935, lithograph, 76x82cm, multiple ownership. Studies: Study on tracing paper, Liss Fine Art. Christ Helped with Cross, Scarborough Art Gallery. Original zinc plate auctioned Christies, 22 May 2008, Lot 270. Exh: Etchings and Lithographs by Frank Brangwyn RA LLD, Brighton Public Art Galleries, 1935, Cat 5; Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 2007. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p177. Lit:: Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p66. Ill: G K Chesterton (commentary), The Way of the Cross, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935; 'Le Chemin de Croix', Bulletin Paroissial Liturgique, 1936, Vol 7, p7. Brangwyn has included portraits of himself and his dog on the right. Brangwyn has portrayed himself as Simon of Cyrene. 6th Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus (S1901), 1935, lithograph, 76x82cm, multiple ownership. Studies: Study on tracing paper, Liss Fine Art. Christ Stumbling and Christ Stumbling 2, both Scarborough Art Gallery. Study of a man and St Veronique, University of Wales, Bangor University Library. Exh: Etchings and Lithographs by Frank Brangwyn RA LLD, Brighton Public Art Galleries, 1935, Cat 6; Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 2007. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p178. Lit:: Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p66. Ill: G K Chesterton (commentary), The Way of the Cross, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935; L'Artisan Liturgique, 1935, No 37, p762; 'Le Chemin de Croix', Bulletin Paroissial Liturgique, 1936, Vol 7, p8. Brangwyn's face can be seen above the kneeling Veronica.
7th Arras original
7th Arras
8th zinc
7th Station: Jesus Falls for the Second Time (S1530), 1920-1924, oil on canvas, 104x142cm. Provenance: Campion Hall (presented by Brangwyn to father M C D'Arcy); The Fine Art Society; private collection. Studies: Entombment, Royal Academy, London. Ill: Furst, The Decorative Art of Frank Brangwyn, London, 1924, facing p143. This is one of the oils painted for Arras Cathedral. 7th Station: Jesus Falls for the Second Time (S1530) Exh: Frank Brangwyn. A Mission to Decorate Life, The Fine Art Society, 2006, cat 34. Lit and Ill: Libby Horner, Frank Brangwyn. A Mission to Decorate Life, The Fine Art Society/Liss Fine Art, 2006, p79-81. Ill: Sotheby's Catalogue, 14 November 1984, Lot 24. At some stage, presumably later in life judging by the portrait, Brangwyn repainted the work (original seen to left), eliminating the small boy and placing himself prominently in the foreground offering succour to Christ. Image courtesy Liss Fine Art. 8th Station: Jesus Speaks to the Daughters of Jerusalem (S1903), 1935, 76x82cm, zinc lithographic plate. Provenance: E Kenneth Center; Hilary Gherrish; private collection. Related works: The small boy appears in Let the people Praise Thee at Christ's Hospital School, Horsham (M1109), and the design of the Station is identical to the 8th Station for Arras (S3063). Lit and Ill: Liss Fine Art, 2007, cat 124. The boy on the left is taken from a photograph of a child holding an ice cream cone. The design is handed in the printed version. Image courtesy Liss Fine Art.
9th tracing
10th leper
11th woodcut
9th Station: Jesus falls for the Third Time (S1904), 1935, pencil on tracing paper, 76x82cm. Provenance: E Kenneth Center; Campbell Fine Art. Exh: Frank Brangwyn. A Mission to Decorate Life, The Fine Art Society, 2006, cat 150. Lit and Ill: Liss Fine Art, 2007, cat 123. Libby Horner, Frank Brangwyn. A Mission to Decorate Life, The Fine Art Society/Liss Fine Art, 2006, p142. Brangwyn drew his image on tracing paper and the drawings were transferred to the zinc lithographic plates probably by rubbing the back of the paper with red conteand tracing the outlines of the image. Brangwyn would then have worked on the plates with lithographic chalk and etching tools. Image courtesy Liss Fine Art. 10th Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Garments (S4257), 1920-1922, tempera on canvas, 81x104cm. this is one of the Stations produced for Father Ryan's Leper Mission. 11th Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross (S4374), 1934, woodcut on paper, 42.8x46.5cm, multiple ownership. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p157.
12th litho
13th litho
14th litho
12th Station: Jesus Dies Upon the Cross (S1907), 1935, lithograph, 76x82cm, multiple ownership. Studies: Original zinc lithographic plate, Liss Fine Art. Vinegar and the Sponge and vinegar and the Sponge 2, both Scarborough Art Gallery. Study of the Head of Christ on the Cross, Royal Academy, London. Related Works: Crucifixion (O1340) Exh: Etchings and Lithographs by Frank Brangwyn RA LLD, Brighton Public Art Galleries, 1935, Cat 12; Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 2007. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p179. Lit: Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p67. Ill: G K Chesterton (commentary), The Way of the Cross, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935; L'Artisan Liturgique, 1935, No 37, p762; 'Le Chemin de Croix', Bulletin Paroissial Liturgique, 1936, Vol 7, p14. Mortlock, 'The Way of the Cross. Mr Brangwyn's "Stations"', The Church Times, 20 March 1936, p366 13th Station: Jesus is taken Down from the Cross (S1908), 1935, lithograph, 76x82cm, multiple ownership. Studies:Taking from the Cross, Scarborough Art Gallery. Exh: Etchings and Lithographs by Frank Brangwyn RA LLD, Brighton Public Art Galleries, 1935, Cat 13; Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 2007. Lit:: Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p67. Ill: G K Chesterton (commentary), The Way of the Cross, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935; L'Artisan Liturgique, 1935, No 37, p763; 'Le Chemin de Croix', Bulletin Paroissial Liturgique, 1936, Vol 7, p15. Mortlock, 'The Way of the Cross. Mr Brangwyn's "Stations"', The Church Times, 20 March 1936, p366. Brangwyn's figure, centre, takes the weight of Christ's lower body. 14th Station: Jesus is Placed in the Sepulchre (S1909), 1935, lithograph, 76x82cm, multiple ownership. Studies: Christ Taken from the Cross, Scarborough Art Gallery. Original zinc plate, auctioned Christies, 22 May 2008, Lot 270. Related Works: The pose of Christ is similar in the stained glass window, United Reformed Church, Abington Avenue, Northampton (G1626). Exh: Etchings and Lithographs by Frank Brangwyn RA LLD, Brighton Public Art Galleries, 1935, Cat 14; Brangwyn, William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, 2007. Lit and Ill: Marechal, Frank Brangwyn: Collection Catalogue, Bruges, 1987, p179. Lit:: Gillow, Catalogue of the Works by Sir Frank Brangwyn RA, William Morris Gallery, 1974, p67. Ill: G K Chesterton (commentary), The Way of the Cross, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1935; L'Artisan Liturgique, 1935, No 37, p763; 'Le Chemin de Croix', Bulletin Paroissial Liturgique, 1936, Vol 7, p16.