Bookplate: S. Anthony 1926

Curator: Eric Gill, a British sculptor and printmaker, created this small wood engraving, "Bookplate: S. Anthony." Editor: The figures almost float, enveloped by the curving lines. It feels like a dream, or a stylized memory. Curator: Indeed. Gill draws on the visual vocabulary of medieval art. Saint Anthony is depicted reading, embraced by a protective, almost maternal figure, perhaps representing divine wisdom, and a child, signifying innocence or the future. Editor: Knowing Gill's background as a stone carver adds another layer; the simple lines and defined contours speak to that craft. The deliberate choice of wood engraving, a traditional method, reinforces the connection to earlier eras of book production. Curator: Precisely. The image evokes a sense of timeless spiritual devotion. It acts as an icon to be internalized by the book’s owner. Editor: The tension between the artist’s reverence for tradition and his own modern style is what captivates me. Curator: It is a powerful blending of the old and the new. Editor: I agree. A small window into larger worlds.