Peter Murphy (artist)
Encyclopedia
Peter Murphy is an English
artist working in traditional egg tempera
and gold leaf
techniques, and a member of the Stuckist
art movement.
, England, and educated at Jacob Kramer College of Art and the University of East London
. He trained with iconographer
Guillem Ramos Poqui.
Murphy uses traditional techniques from medieval altar painting, including egg tempera paint and gilding with gold leaf. He is a member of The Society of Tempera Painters and runs courses teaching these traditional techniques. He has led workshops in Byzantine painting techniques on the Greek island of Skyros
.
He has been commissioned by a number of churches in the UK, notably Tewkesbury Abbey
and the church of St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol
. He has also been employed by a number of museums. In 1998 he recreated a triptych
by Simone Martini
for the Barber Institute of Fine Arts
.
He was one of a team on a Rolf Harris
TV show which recreated a Botticelli
painting in a week. As well as traditional iconic subject matter of saints and madonnas, he has used the same techniques to depict rock heroes, including Elvis Presley
, Jimi Hendrix
and John Lennon
.
He formed a Broadstairs
group of the Stuckists art movement in 2005 and has exhibited with the group on several occasions since, including I Won't Have Sex with You as long as We're Married, 2007, at the A Gallery
, London.
In 2007, Murphy painted twelve "vibrant images" for a new shrine to St. Ethelbert, king and martyr
, in Hereford Cathedral
, where the saint is buried. The images, painted in his usual Byzantine
technique, tell the story of the saint and are incorporated on a seven-sided wooden structure around a pillar to the east of the high altar. Robert Kilgour, cathedral architect, designed the structure, which was made by Stephen Florence.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist working in traditional egg tempera
Tempera
Tempera, also known as egg tempera, is a permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder medium . Tempera also refers to the paintings done in this medium. Tempera paintings are very long lasting, and examples from the 1st centuries AD still exist...
and gold leaf
Gold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
techniques, and a member of the Stuckist
Stuckism
Stuckism is an international art movement founded in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative painting in opposition to conceptual art...
art movement.
Life and work
Peter Murphy was born in LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England, and educated at Jacob Kramer College of Art and the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
. He trained with iconographer
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
Guillem Ramos Poqui.
Murphy uses traditional techniques from medieval altar painting, including egg tempera paint and gilding with gold leaf. He is a member of The Society of Tempera Painters and runs courses teaching these traditional techniques. He has led workshops in Byzantine painting techniques on the Greek island of Skyros
Skyros
Skyros is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC and slightly later, the island was known as The Island of the Magnetes where the Magnetes used to live and later Pelasgia and Dolopia and later Skyros...
.
He has been commissioned by a number of churches in the UK, notably Tewkesbury Abbey
Tewkesbury Abbey
The Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Tewkesbury in the English county of Gloucestershire is the second largest parish church in the country and a former Benedictine monastery.-History:...
and the church of St Mary Redcliffe in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. He has also been employed by a number of museums. In 1998 he recreated a triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
by Simone Martini
Simone Martini
Simone Martini was an Italian painter born in Siena.He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style....
for the Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Barber Institute of Fine Arts
The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an art gallery and concert hall in Birmingham, England. It is situated in purpose-built premises on the campus of the University of Birmingham....
.
He was one of a team on a Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
TV show which recreated a Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
painting in a week. As well as traditional iconic subject matter of saints and madonnas, he has used the same techniques to depict rock heroes, including Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
.
He formed a Broadstairs
Broadstairs
Broadstairs is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about south-east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St. Peter's and had a population in 2001 of about 24,000. Situated between Margate and...
group of the Stuckists art movement in 2005 and has exhibited with the group on several occasions since, including I Won't Have Sex with You as long as We're Married, 2007, at the A Gallery
A Gallery
The A Gallery was a contemporary art gallery in Wimbledon, London run by Fraser Kee Scott.The gallery was founded in 1997. Its first exhibit was by then-recent graduate Alison Jackson. In 2004, the gallery exhibited a sculpture by Marie White of a nude female; some members of the public complained...
, London.
In 2007, Murphy painted twelve "vibrant images" for a new shrine to St. Ethelbert, king and martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
, in Hereford Cathedral
Hereford Cathedral
The current Hereford Cathedral, located at Hereford in England, dates from 1079. Its most famous treasure is Mappa Mundi, a mediæval map of the world dating from the 13th century. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building.-Origins:...
, where the saint is buried. The images, painted in his usual Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
technique, tell the story of the saint and are incorporated on a seven-sided wooden structure around a pillar to the east of the high altar. Robert Kilgour, cathedral architect, designed the structure, which was made by Stephen Florence.