Lot 54: George Henry Grenville Manton (British, 1855-1932) Love Divine

George Henry Grenville Manton (British, 1855-1932)
Love Divine
signed and dated 'GRENVILLE MANTON/1910' (lower right), also signed and inscribed on labels on the reverse
oil on canvas
177 x 82cm (69 11/16 x 32 5/16in).
Footnotes

Exhibited
London, Royal Academy, 1910, no.326

George Henry Grenville Manton was born and lived in Hertfordshire. He specialised in portraits but also painted genre subjects with Pre-Raphaelitesque subjects such as Isabella and the Pot of Basil (Wycombe Museum). He also painted large scale religious subjects such as In the year of our Lord (Usher Gallery) and the present lot.

The imagery of the young Christ in a crucifix position echoes Holman Hunt's Shadow of Death (Manchester Art Gallery) painted more than a generation earlier. The depiction of the lilies, roses, laurel tree and doves shows a love of symbolism. If the subject and iconography are Pre-Raphaelite in their inspiration the composition and style are much more of its time, with large planes of colour and a simple yet powerful composition.