Interest in Professor Thrupiece "The Artist" continues apace, with each new discovery seemingly stimulating the search for more of the Professor's work, much of which has been dispersed and/or lost to the public over the years. Now, hot on the heels of the publication of the Professor's Sketchbook (Thrupiece Abroad: Sketches from Kent and East Sussex 1996-2002, Threadbone Press 2017), comes the announcement that Rev Canon Wilberforce Lowe-Church has unearthed the Professor's S-L S Triptych, rumours of the existence of which has intrigued art circles for many, many years.
Dating from what cultural experts have named the Professor's "High Church Period" (November 2003 - February 2004) the Triptych was commissioned for the Parish Church of Our Lady of Low Expectations, Milborne St Andrew but was thought by the Parish's elders to be too "racy" to be accepted and displayed. Instead, it was acquired by a private source and has, hitherto, been considered lost. Quite how it appeared in Rev Deacon Lowe-Church's garage remains a mystery. "I was looking for green emulsion when I more or less tripped over it - which is appropriate for a Triptych don't you think?", the Canon Deacon recalled. "I can't think how it got there or how I have missed it hitherto [the work is approximately 10 feet by 36 feet]. "Perhaps my wife took objection to it and hid it behind the picnic table. She does that sort of thing", he sighed.
Nor does the intrigue end there. The Triptych was named - by the Professor himself - "Homage à S-L S in Three Moods". "S-L S" is, in itself, no great mystery, being a clear reference to Santa Lucia de Sienna, the well-known Christian martyr (on whom the wholly fictional Madonna of the Big Boobies featured in the one popular BBC sitcom Allo Allo! is self-evidently based). However, the model and inspiration for the work remains wholly unknown, even though she was a source of inspiration for the Professor who made representations of her no fewer than 623 times.
Art expert Vin Easel is clear if resigned: "We will almost certainly never know who the Professor's muse was. He did not reveal her identity in his own lifetime and with the passing of the years the likelihood of knowing recedes. What we do know, however, is that she inspired him to many of his greatest achievements, sparked a new creativity in his later years and urged him to fashion something remarkable in the form of the Triptych. It is time for the questioning to end: let's just marvel at and enjoy a masterpiece now happily restored to us and be thankful for the extraordinary woman who made it possible". "Mind you I wouldn't have minded meeting her", he added, "she could have posed for me anytime. I mean just check out the ... !"
"Homage a S-L S in Three Moods" will be displayed during the Threadbone Primavera Festival at The Congregationalist Assembly Rooms, Knowlton. Over 18s only.
Dating from Professor Thrupiece's "High Church Period" (November 2003 - February 2004), the discovery of "Homage a S-L S in Three Moods" in Canon Deacon Lowe-Church's garage in Milborne St Andrew may be the art find of the year.
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