
Translating as 'Everything through him, nothing without him', this carved inscription was created by Eric Gill in the year of his conversion to Roman Catholicism. Quoting a passage from the Gospel of St John, Omnia Per Ipsum was created as a gift for Gill's father, Arthur. The inscription resonates with both the Christian beliefs that Gill and his father shared, and as a reflection on his father's importance to him. Gill's innovative approach to typography – particularly his reintroduction of Roman lettering – was tremendously influential, not only on his contemporaries in the Ditchling Guild but on typographical design as a whole. Omnia Per Ipsum shows an early stage in the development of Gill's work. The kerning, or spacing of letters, is inconsistent and uncomfortable – the unnecessarily close grouping of the N, I and A at the end of the first line suggests Gill hadn't yet developed a feel for the sense of space carried by letters.
More information
Title of artwork, date
Omnia per ipsum, 1913
Date supported
2014
Medium and material
Hoptonwood stone
Dimensions
19.5 x 25.5 x 7 cm
Grant
15000
Total cost
25000

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