Eric Gill, 'Ecstasy', 1910-1

I'm publishing this work as an example for my application for the Tate IK Prize 2015. My project—Tate Britain Unbound—would digitize and publish as many modern-era, public domain sculptures in Tate Britain's collection as the project's budget allows, along the lines of my Through A Scanner, Skulpturhalle project. This Eric Gill capture is a demonstration both of what's feasible, and of my sincere interest in increasing access to Tate Britain's collection.

I captured Gill's 'Ecstasy' at Tate Britain in 2012, and have even cast it in bronze, but I've been waiting for an advantageous time to publish the data. That time is now.

—Cosmo Wenman

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Download the 3D-printable survey here.
Embeddable onscreen visualization here.

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Eric Gill, Ecstasy, 1910-1

This sculpture was owned by the collector Edward Perry Warren, of Lewes, Sussex, who also commissioned Rodin to make him 'The Kiss'. Gill carved the relief over a period of seven months, and called it 'They'. The title of 'Ecstasy' emerged after his death. When making this work, Gill was strongly influenced by Indian temple sculptures, which often showed couples in the act of copulation. Gill's sculpture, like that found on Indian temples, had a spiritual content. He wrote that 'All creative acts have God for their author. The human act of begetting is a type of divine creative power'. Gill titled a drawing for this work 'Christ and the Church'.

tate.org.uk/art/artworks/gill-ecstasy-t03477

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Artwork details
Artist: Eric Gill 1882–1940
Title: Ecstasy
Date: 1910–1
Medium: Hoptonwood stone
Dimensions: 1372 x 457 x 228 mm
Collection: Tate
Acquisition: Purchased 1982
Reference: T03477
On display at Tate Britain
Theme: BP Walk through British Art
Room: 1890
Captured via photogrammetry at Tate Britain by Cosmo Wenman, August 2012

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Cosmo Wenman
@CosmoWenman
cosmowenman.com
[email protected]