Bangor Abbey Parish Website - Kenneth Webb Mural

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The Kenneth Webb Mural

The design is based on the Classic form, and the main composition is triangular, the three Saints forming the base and Our Lord the apex.

Allied with the traditional Classic design is a Romantic use of colour and texture.

The contemporary aspect, or 'prismatic' use of texture is controlled by the narrative nature of the painting, which illustrates the missionary contribution of Bangor during the 6th and 7th centuries.

The Ascending Christ is conceived as giving His last command, "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature." Attentive to His words, which were their great inspiration, are Comgall on the left, the great teacher of missionaries; in the centre, Columbanus; and Gall on the right.

The picture is rich in symbolism :

The triangle, symbolic of the Holy Trinity, is repeated throughout the composition.

The Kenneth Webb Mural (photo Gifford Savage)

E.g. the overall design of the thorn motif, triangular in outward form, sub-divided into an endless pattern of further triangles, counter-changed in colour and tone. These rhythms can also be found in the modelling of the figures of Our Lord and the Saints, and even in the sub-division of the background. The latter is formalised, but still evocative of sky, water and rock.

Colour has also been used as a symbol. The rich pattern of orange and red in the central figure of Columbanus is used to signify the vigour of his personality, whilst the gentler St Gall is depicted within a cool harmony of blue and green, offset by a scarlet under-robe. Comgall, the Founder of the Abbey, is attired in the traditional dress of an Abbot of that remote period, with restrained tone-colour to express his well-known rigorous asceticism.

Our Lord is rendered in a more mystical manner, to emphasise His divinity and celestial nature, in contrast to the terrestrial personalities of the Bangor Saints.

Kenneth Webb giving an 'Address' on the mural - 29 November 1960 (photo Leslie Cummings)

The artist, Kenneth Webb is pictured giving an 'Address' on the mural, during 'The Visitors' Service,' following the re-opening of the church after renovation - 29 November 1960.

The foreground of the painting is symbolic of the wilderness of the sinful world, and in particular of the hostility to the Christian faith which descended upon western Europe in the Dark Ages, and with which the Bangor missionaries had to contend. The blackthorn was chosen as being a common bush, whilst the rocks and sea convey the impression of the Bangor coast-line.

Technically, the Mural is of interest as being the first of its type in Ireland. It is built up of many layers of translucent glaze (pigment in an oil vehicle), interspersed with areas of opaque texture in contrasting colour, so that the juxtaposition of the different areas have some of the strength and character of a stained glass window. The artist has striven to retain this effect from all viewing points in the church.

It is also of interest to note that the glazing technique, which produces the rich colour, has been used by many of the Old Masters, e.g. Titian, Rembrandt and Velasquez. But the combination with texture to produce the 'stained glass' effect is a contemporary innovation of the artist's which has taken several years to develop. The theory of glazing is well-known, but the exact technique is one of personal research. Several landscape paintings by Kenneth Webb, using this technique, have aroused interest recently as far apart as San Francisco and the Paris Salon, as well as the Royal Hibernian Academy.