Winchester College possesses the sculpture of Saint Sebastian below. Watch this short video to learn about the object. Beneath the video I compare it to war memorials and give a former don's review of it.
This unique oak version of Eric Gill's famous sculpture of Saint Sebastian was commissioned by Winchester College for Moberly Library. It is 1.5m tall and was carved in 1935 by Donald Potter. Two preparatory drawings by Gill can be found in the University of Texas.
St Sebastian survived the arrows intended to kill him as punishment for his Christian faith. Gill does not show the arrows in his sculpture, increasing the Saint's heroism. The heroic martyrdom is reminiscent of war memorials, such as to the left, with their emotionless faces, designed around the same time.
Eric Gill was regarded by Reginald Gleadowe, former teacher of Art at Winchester College, who conceived the commission of the sculpture and designed of the typography for Winchester College War Cloister, as 'the greatest modern English sculptor.' He advised students, regarding the sculpture of Saint Sebastian to 'look at it and then go look again.'
There is controversy regarding Eric Gill. Although one of the great British artists in the 20th century, he was a sexual abuser of his own daughters. In a modern world, is it acceptable to keep controversial statues in their original positions? There is great controversy surrounding this subject, which I shall not explore in any depth. However, I will mention that in recent years, there have been growing calls to remove Gill's sculpture of Ariel, from the Tempest, from the facade of BBC Broadcasting House, the entrance hall which Montague Rendall selected a quotation for (https://godtres.wixsite.com/cornucopia/post/monty-rendall-the-bbc). Rendall had also appointed Gleadowe to the teaching staff.
Winchester College Collections: winchestercollections.co.uk/collection/donald-potter-1902-2004-after-a-design-by-eric-gill-1882-1940
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