Descent from the Cross

The use of gouache and oil on silk in this painting is probably unique in Spencer’s oeuvre. Based on a drawing of 1915, an earlier version in oil was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1952 (no. 422) but subsequently destroyed. In the introduction to the catalogue of his 1964 retrospective exhibition at Reading, Gilbert wrote that, 'The Descent from the Cross and the Ascension … were not finally painted as I wanted them until 1961 and 1963. I have always felt these ideas as among my most spontaneous works.’

Date: 1915/1960
Inscriptions: lr: Gilbert Spencer/ 1915-60
Tags: Biblical, Oil Paintings, Gouache
Medium: Gouache and oil on silk
Height (mm): 545
Width (mm): 584
Location: Ingram Collection
Exhibition History: Reading 1964 (81); London, Tate 1975; London, New Grafton Gallery, December 1987 - January 1988
Provenance: Mr and Mrs. A.S. Pryor; Agnews, London; Mr and Mrs. F.B. Levetus; C. Gustin; Christie's, South Kensington, 1 July 2004, lot 33; private collection; Christie's, South Kensington 14 December 2012 lot 305 (bought in); Christie's London 23 March 2017 lot 90
Literature: Spencer 1974 p. 189