Sir Thomas Monnington (1902-1976):
Study for ‘The Fifth Station, The Cross is laid upon Simon of Cyrene’, circa 1960
Framed (ref: 503)
Charcoal over intersecting diagonals in red wax crayon, sight size, 21 1/2 x 17 1/2 in.(54.6 x 44.5 cm.), overall size 24 x 20 in. (61 x 50.8 cm.)
See all works by Sir Thomas Monnington charcoal crayon murals religion
Literature: Sir Thomas Monnington, exh. cat.. The Fine Art Society, London, 1997, p. 56Monnington
began designs for fourteen Stations of the Cross for St George’s Parish
Church, Brede, Sussex, in 1959; he exhibited studies for Jesus Meets
his Mother and Jesus Falls for the First Time at the Royal Academy that
year.The works were commissioned by the Rector of Brede, the Revd Percy
Hill, with the support of Bishop George Bell, who enthusiastically
endorsed Hill’s choice: ‘If you could get Monnington it would be
wonderful.’ Monnington accepted thecommission at a cost of £100 for
each station. He expressed a preference to execute the works as
frescoes but, since the surface of the ancient walls did not allow
this, painted them instead in tempera on panel.The work took several
years to complete, and Monnington became deeply moved by the subject
matter. The last four or five stations are markedly different in style
from the earlier ones, as Monnington was increasingly drawn towards
abstraction. Strong stylistic parallels can be made between
Monnington’s Stations and Paul Nash’s twelve wood-cuts for Genesis
(Nonesuch Press, London, 1924).