Red Mannheim

About

St Paul's has chosen two new works by the British artist Mark Alexander to be hung either side of the nave this summer. The installation forms part of the St Paul's Cathedral Arts Project, an ongoing programme which seeks to explore the encounter between art and faith. Both entitled Red Mannheim, Alexander's large red silkscreens are inspired by the Mannheim Cathedral altarpiece (1739-41), which was damaged by bombing in the Second World War. The original sculpture depicts Christ on the cross, surrounded by a familiar retinue of mourners. Rendered in splendid giltwood, with Christ's wracked body sculpted in relief, and the flourishes of flora and incandescent rays from heaven, this masterpiece of the German Rococo is an object of ravishing beauty and intense piety.