Jacob is wrestling with a stranger in a struggle that will last throughout the night. In the morning, the assailant reveals himself to be an angel and blesses Jacob for not abandoning the struggle. Though apparently locked in combat, the figures here seem to embrace and kiss, adding a charged sexual undertone to the sculpture. The work was carved from a single block of coloured alabaster. This work was carved in the middle of the Second World War and is a deeply personal work on the part of the artist who shared its hero's name.

Provenance

Mr W. Cartmell; S. Bernstein; Granada plc.