Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph

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File:Christ in Glory tapestry by Graham Sutherland in Coventry Cathedral.jpg
Graham Sutherland, Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph, 1962, Coventry Cathedral


Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph is a very large tapestry by Graham Sutherland, installed at the north end of the new Coventry Cathedral as a focal point to the nave. It was unveiled in March 1962, shortly before the cathedral was consecrated in May 1962. The work measures 23.94 by 12.05 metres (78.5 ft × 39.5 ft), and is reputed to be the largest tapestry made in one single piece.

The 14th century Gothic cathedral in Coventry was severely damaged in November 1940 by Luftwaffe bombs dropped during the Second World War. Rather than being repaired, the ruins were left as a memorial, and a new cathedral was built nearby. A competition to design the new building was launched in 1950 and won by Basil Spence with a modern style which included a tapestry behind the altar (usually, the main entrance to the cathedral is to the south, facing the old cathedral, and the altar is at the north end). Spence was knighted for his work on the new cathedral in 1960.

Spence originally proposed a Crucifixion scene for the tapestry, and suggested Sutherland on the basis of his 1946 painting in St Matthew's Church, Northampton, influenced by Matthias Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece. Sutherland had been a war artist in the Second World War, and was a convert to Roman Catholicism. In the event, Sutherland's commission in 1951 was for a tapestry of Christ in Glory. Sutherland continued to work intermittently on the commission for the next 11 years.

File:Graham Sutherland Tapestry -Coventry Cathedral -5July2008.jpg
The tapestry installed behind the altar, at the north end of the nave in Coventry Cathedral

The tapestry depicts a seated Risen Christ, within an oval mandorla on a green background, accompanied by the symbols of the Four Evangelists: a lion for St Mark, an eagle for St John, a calf for St Luke, and an angel for St Matthew. For the symbols of the Evangelists, Sutherland sketched eagles and lions sketched as Maidstone Zoo. The composition also draws influences from Egyptian sculpture, Italian mosaic, and images of Christ Pantocrator in Greek and Romanesque churches. The face of Christ is bearded, and is deliberately made more human than divine: it is based on several sources, including photographs of cyclists in Paris Match magazine. The Christ figure wears a white robe, and is sitting on at throne, face on, with both hands raised towards his face. Loops around the head suggest a halo. Between his feet is a life sized figure of a man, made diminutive by the colossal scale of the Christ-figure. At the base of the tapestry is a small Crucifixion scene.

Many of Sutherland's initial studies and sketches are held by the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry. Three preliminary cartoons, made in 1953, 1955 and 1958, are each 7 feet (2.1 m) high, approximately 1/10th the final size. The first has three panels at the base: an Annunciation, a Visitation and a Pietà. The second has Christ with arms stretched out to either side, and no mandorla, and three different panels at the base: an Annunciation, the Madonna, and St Michael fighting the devil. The third cartoon resembles the final work, with Christ seated on a throne and hands raised to either side of his face. A fourth and final cartoon was photographically enlarged in sections to guide the work of the tapestry weavers.

At first Sutherland suggested that the tapestry could be weaved by the Edinburgh Tapestry Company, but the work was eventually sent to Pinton Frères (fr) at Felletin near Aubusson in the Creuse department of France. The French weavers, unlike those in Edinburgh, were able to make the whole tapestry in one piece, with a weave count of 12 warps per inch, using a gigantic 500 year old loom. It was made using undyed cotton warps and dyed wefts of wool from Australia. The pattern was built up using Aubusson tapestry techniques, using blocks of 900 different colours to create the different shades. A team of 12 worked on the tapestry for 2 years, under the supervision of Marie Cuttoli, and Sutherland visited 9 times to check and correct the work. It is reputed to be the largest tapestry made in one single piece (the Guinness Book of Records lists a tapestry in China, 6.135 by 45.054 metres (20.13 ft × 147.81 ft), made in 2015, as the largest). It weighs over one tonne.

It was restored in 2015.

References

Further reading

  • The Coventry Tapestry: The Genesis of the Great Tapestry in Coventry Cathedral, "Christ in Glory in the Tetramorph." Graham Sutherland, New York Graphic Society, 1964
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