Reveille
Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE, RA (Cookham 1891– Cliveden 1959)
Category
Art / Oil paintings
Date
1929
Materials
Oil on canvas
Measurements
2134 x 1854 mm
Place of origin
Burghclere
Order this imageCollection
Sandham Memorial Chapel, Hampshire
On show at
Sandham Memorial Chapel, Hampshire, London and South East, National Trust
NT 790186
Caption
Reveille (the morning wake-up) shows soldiers looming into the tent, announcing the fact that the war is over. In the chapel itself, the Resurrection (or the end of the War) has already taken place in the narrative sequence. Soldiers are shown dressing under mosquito nets, with malaria-infested mosquitoes hovering above them. Spencer had suffered from malaria whilst serving in Salonika, and it is probable that Harry Sandham, the dedicatee of the chapel, had died of complications related to the same disease.
Summary
Oil painting on canvas, Reveille by Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE, RA (Cookham 1891– Cliveden 1959), 1929. Soldiers are told that the war is over. The soldiers are dressing and shaving under mosquito nets, when their companions look in to tell them that the war is over. The idea of Reveille (the morning wake-up) is the physical equivalent to Resurrection, and the picture connects with 'Dug-Out', occupying the same position in relation to the east wall; both scenes were originally thought of as a 'Resurrection' picture. On a spiritual plane the soldiers on the right have perhaps seen the truth of the Resurrection and are eager to inform their colleagues.
Provenance
Given with the chapel by John Louis Behrend (1881- 1972) and Mary Sandham Behrend (1884 - 1977), 1947
Makers and roles
Sir Stanley Spencer, CBE, RA (Cookham 1891– Cliveden 1959), artist
Exhibition history
Stanley Spencer: Heaven in a Hell of War, Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester, 2013 - 2015 Stanley Spencer: Heaven in a Hell of War, Somerset House, London, 2013 - 2015 Stanley Spencer: Heaven in a Hell of War, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, 2013 - 2015
References
Bell 1992 Keith Bell, Stanley Spencer, A Complete Catalogue of the Paintings, Phaidon Press, London 1992, p.422 Carline 1978 Richard Carline. Stanley Spencer at War, London, Faber and Faber, 1978, p.184 Stanley Spencer (ed. Keith Bell), Royal Academy of Arts, London with Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1980, p.106-109 Behrend 1965 George Behrend, Stanley Spencer at Burghclere, London, MacDonald, 1965, p.31 Pople 1991 Kenneth Pople, Stanley Spencer: A Biography, Harper Collins London, 1991, p.162-4 Gough 2006 Paul Gough, Stanley Spencer: Journey to Burghclere, Samson & Company, Bristol, 2006, p.144-146