It is not surprising with Kyffin’s lineage from a long list of clergy, that there are numerous visual references to his background in depictions of churches, priests, nuns and choirboys. ‘The Cleric’ currently on exhibition at Oriel Ynys Môn exemplifies this (see Blog 7/01/2010).
Seeing an Easter image of the risen Christ by Piero della Francesca, as a student, at the Ashmolean Library, made Kyffin recognise the spiritual power of art. Although not a believer, Kyffin describes it in terms of a religious experience, ‘tears just rolled down my cheeks… and that was my road to Damascus, my conversion really, because I began to realise that there’s something spiritual which should come into painting’.
In the bequest are two paintings by Kyffin that portray the Crucifixion of Christ. The earliest, ‘The Crucifixion’ (ca.1950) is an interesting combination of reality and abstraction, painted with a brush and a painting knife. It resembles a stained glass window, and clearly shows the influence of Georges Rouault, whose training as a stained glass worker conditioned his work as an artist.
The second painting, ‘The Deposition of Christ’ (ca. 1960), shows the scene on Golgotha as Christ was lowered from the cross. This has been painted solely with a knife, with the faces of the characters simplified.
Similar further examples are to be found in private collections, The Glynn Vivian Gallery, Swansea and University Bangor.
Iwan Dafis