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Sir Stanley Spencer KCB CBE RA (30 June 1891 – 14 December 1959) was an English painter. Shortly after leaving the Slade School of Art, Spencer became well known for his paintings depicting Biblical scenes occurring as if in Cookham, the small village beside the River Thames where he was born and spent much of his life. Spencer referred to Cookham as "a village in Heaven" and in his biblical scenes, fellow-villagers are shown as their Gospel counterparts. Spencer was skilled at organising multi-figure compositions such as in his large paintings for the Sandham Memorial Chapel and the ''Shipbuilding on the Clyde'' series, the former being a World War One memorial while the latter was a commission for the War Artists' Advisory Committee during World War Two. As his career progressed Spencer often produced landscapes for commercial necessity and the intensity of his early visionary years diminished somewhat while elements of eccentricity came more to the fore. Although his compositions became more claustrophobic and his use of colour less vivid he maintained an attention to detail in his paintings akin to that of the Pre-Raphaelites. Spencer's works often express his fervent if unconventional Christian faith. This is especially evident in the scenes that he based in Cookham which show the compassion that he felt for his fellow residents and also his romantic and sexual obsessions. Spencer's works originally provoked great shock and controversy. Nowadays, they still seem stylistic and experimental, while the nude works depicting his futile relationship with Patricia Preece, such as the ''Leg of mutton nude'', foreshadow some of the much later works of Lucian Freud. Spencer's early work is regarded as a synthesis of French Post-Impressionism, exemplified for instance by Paul Gauguin, plus early Italian painting typified by Giotto. While a student Spencer allied with a (short-lived) group who called themselves the "Neo-Primitives" which was centred on David Bomberg and William Roberts.〔 〕 In later life Spencer remained an independent artist and did not join any of the artistic movements of the period, although he did show three works at the ''Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition'' in 1912.〔 ==Early life== Stanley Spencer was born in Cookham, Berkshire, the eighth surviving child of William and Anna Caroline Spencer (née Slack). His father, usually known as Par, was a music teacher and church organist. Stanley's younger brother, Gilbert Spencer (1892–1979), also became a notable artist, known principally for his landscapes. The family home, "Fernlea", on Cookham High Street, had been built by Spencer's grandfather Julius Spencer. Stanley Spencer was educated at home by his sisters Annie and Florence, as his parents had reservations about the local council school but could not afford private education for him. However, Gilbert and Stanley took drawing lessons from a local artist, Dorothy Bailey. Eventually, Gilbert was sent to a school in Maidenhead, but the family did not feel this would be beneficial for Stanley, who was developing into a solitary teenager given to long walks, yet with a passion for drawing. Par Spencer approached local landowners, Lord and Lady Boston, for advice, and Lady Boston agreed Stanley could spend time drawing with her each week. In 1907 Lady Boston arranged for Stanley to attend Maidenhead Technical Institute, where his father insisted he should not take any exams.〔 From 1908 to 1912, Spencer studied at the Slade School of Art at University College, London, under Henry Tonks and others. His contemporaries at the Slade included Dora Carrington, Maxwell Gordon Lightfoot, Mark Gertler, Paul Nash, Edward Wadsworth, Isaac Rosenberg and David Bomberg. So profound was his attachment to Cookham that most days he would take the train back home in time for tea. It even became his nickname: his fellow student C.R.W. Nevinson dubbed him ''Cookham'', a name which Spencer himself took to using for a time.〔 In 1912 Spencer exhibited the painting ''John Donne Arriving in Heaven'' and some drawings in the British section of the ''Second Post-Impressionist Exhibition'' organised by Roger Fry in London. The same year he painted ''The Nativity''. for which he won a Slade Composition Prize and he also began painting ''Apple Gatherers'', which was shown in the first Contemporary Art Society exhibition the following year. In 1914 Spencer completed ''Zacharias and Elizabeth'' and ''The Centurion's Servant''. The latter painting featured not only Spencer himself as the servant, but also his brothers and the bed from his own nursery. He also began work on a self-portrait. ''Self-portrait'' (1914) was painted in Wisteria Cottage, a decaying Georgian house Spencer rented, from the local coalman in Cookham, for use as a studio. Painted with a mirror, the painting is bold and austere with a direct and penetrating gaze, softened by the deep shadow on the right hand side – the head fills the picture space and is painted one and a half times life size. ''Apple Gatherers'' had been bought by the artist Henry Lamb, who promptly sold it to the art collector Edward Marsh. Marsh later bought ''Self-portrait'' and considered it to be "masterly...glowing with genius."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Stanley Spencer」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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