"Via Crucis" 1997
Oil on Canvas
91x76cm
Signed Lower Right
Prov: Purchased directly from the artist, Blake Prize Entry.
Private Collection Adelaide
15,000-20,000
John Coburn’s association with the Blake Prize for Religious Art forms one of the defining chapters of his career. Awarded the prize in 1960 for Triptych of the Passion and again in 1977 for Hosanna (shared with Rodney Milgate), Coburn demonstrated that abstraction could successfully communicate spiritual ideas at a time when Australian religious art was undergoing profound change. His success in the Blake Prize affirmed his position as one of the country’s leading abstract painters and helped broaden the acceptance of modernist approaches to religious subject matter.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Coburn produced a significant body of work exploring themes of faith, renewal and symbolism through his distinctive language of colour and geometric form. Rather than illustrating biblical narratives directly, he distilled their meaning into carefully balanced compositions that encouraged reflection and contemplation. This approach became one of the defining characteristics of his mature practice.
“Via Crucis 1997” belongs to this important period of Coburn’s career, reflecting the symbolic vocabulary and formal confidence that established his reputation. Whether conceived as a religious image or a broader meditation on the spiritual and natural worlds, the work exemplifies the qualities that made Coburn one of the most distinctive voices in Australian abstraction.
