Sir Jacob Epstein (1880-1959)

After the severe bombing of Coventry Cathedral on 12 November 1940, the building’s façade received drastic restructuring and part of this work enabled Jacob Epstein to receive a commission in 1957 to create a sculptural visual centrepiece. This striking two-figure narrative of St Michael and the Devil is immediately visible as one approaches the façade’s southern side of the east wall.

The destruction of the cathedral that lay at the spiritual heart of Coventry since 1033 had spread profound feelings of apprehension and hopelessness amongst the local community who saw the ruin of their place of worship as a symbol of God’s abandonment. Thus, Epstein chose a subject matter that could offer a sense of renewed hope to the people of Coventry. Archangel Michael, to whom the church was originally dedicated, is depicted heroically standing over the Devil – a triumphant symbol of good over evil and a reminder of the victory of the spiritual over the base urges of humankind.

Rendered in bronze, the final sculpture was informed by several preliminary studies in plasticine and bronze. Epstein was influenced by earlier studies for the features of his two protagonists; St Michael shares distinct similarities with an earlier portrait bust of the artist’s son-in-law The Hon. Wynne Godley (1956). The figure of the Devil however, altered significantly during the creative process as the frail, cowering body shown in the maquette is given more stature in the final sculpture.