Art Notes: Eric Gill’s Mercy Seat Trinity

Authored by Dr. Lionel Gracey in Issue #33.1 of The Sower

In this issue of The Sower we contemplate two ‘Mercy Seat’ images. This particular engraving is from 1914 by Eric Gill.

At the Last Supper, Philip said to Jesus, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘He who has seen me has seen the Father.’ (John 14:8-9) The Sower has recently had an issue on Christ-centred Catechesis, and this engraving made in 1914 by Eric Gill, is an extremely profound exploration of this theme, examining as it does the linked Mysteries of the Father, the Trinity, the Eucharist and our Redemption. The engraving is loosely based on the traditional representation of the Mercy Seat Trinity, in which the Father, shown as the Ancient of Days, supports the crucified Son, with the Holy Spirit hovering between them, but it contains a number of original departures of considerable theological interest.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!

This article is from The Sower and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of Maryvale Institute. Contact [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Lessons Lourdes Offers to Evangelists and Catechists

By Barbara Davies

Many were the attempts made in Europe during the nineteenth century to redefine and refashion human existence. Significantly, over the same period there were three major apparitions in which Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, was present: Rue du Bac in Paris, France (1830); Lourdes, France (1858); and Knock, Ireland (1879). Taken together, these offer... Read more

Attaching to Mary: The Gesture of Pilgrimage

By Brad Bursa

I come here often. Sometimes I come in gratitude. Other times I come here to beg. I come alone. I come with my wife and our kids. Growing up, it took thirty minutes to get here. Back country roads. Flat. Everything level and straight. Fields speckled with the occasional woods, a barn, a farmhouse. It was practically in my backyard. But then I... Read more

Blessed Is She Who Believed: Mary’s Pastoral Significance for University Students

By Allison Fitzgerald

In many depictions of the annunciation, Mary is pictured as having been interrupted by the angel Gabriel in the midst of study. Whether she has a book open in her lap or tossed aside, a scroll in her hand or on a nearby stand, it is clear that, before this event, she was reading. Art historians have proposed interesting cultural interpretations of... Read more

Art Notes: Eric Gill’s Mercy Seat Trinity

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Pages

Watch Tutorial Videos