Gwen John converted to Catholicism around 1913 and it had a profound effect on her art. The new exhibition on the artist, which opens in Cardiff, is striking in that it places the religious aspect of her work where it belongs, at the centre of her art and her vision of the world. In one way that isn’t surprising, for among her best known works is the series of Dominican nuns from the convent of Meudon, culminating in the wonderful images of their founder, Mère Poussepin, taken from a prayer card. But it can’t always be taken for granted that contemporary curators will be unabashed by religion (I remember a collection of David Jones paintings presented without reference to their religious aspect), so it is rather wonderful that the curators of this excellent show, Lucy Wood and Fiona McLees, give Gwen John’s faith the significance she gave it.
3:00 PM
Gwen John: Strange Beauties
A new exhibition in Cardiff places Gwen John’s Catholic faith at the centre of her art, showing how her conversion shaped both her style and her vision
Melanie McDonagh

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