When Stanley Spencer (1891–1959) painted “Christ Carrying the Cross,” he set the scene on the streets of his quiet village of Cookham, on the Thames about 30 miles west of London. In his depiction of “Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem,” Cookham folk run down their garden paths, trampling their cabbage plants, to join the procession. And when he painted Jesus’ last meal (above) in 1920, Spencer set the table in the cramped back room of a local malthouse. Critics of Spencer’s religious paintings claim that the artist demeaned religious events by turning them into unattractive, everyday events. Enthusiasts have suggested […]
