Stanley Spencer's 1912 illustration, "Joachim Among the Sheepcotes" pays homage to the 14th century artist Giotto, and his painting "Joachim Taking Refuge Among the Shepherds". While Spencer's original drawing was mostly pen and pencil with a subtle wash, its reprint in "The Blue Review" (vol. 2) gives the work a starkly contrasted, black and white quality, straying from the softer, sepia-like feel of Spencer's initial illustration.
Giotto's painting, as the basis for Spencer's later work, provides a religious context to both pieces, as Joachim is said to be the father of the Virgin Mary. This becomes pertinent if we are to understand the usage of any version of this piece by "The Blue Review". Indeed, it seems noteworthy that Spencer's piece appears before any literary works in this volume of "The Blue Review", as the ensuing literary contribuitions have a similarly spiritual quality.
Whether it be of reverance as we see in James Elroy Flecker’s “Yasmin” (“And some to Mecca turn to pray, and I toward thy bed, Yasmin”), or vague allusion to sanctity as seen by Norman Boothroyd’s “The End of the Lonely King” (“They shed no tear: they prayed no prayer”), it seems that the binding themes emerge as religiously entrenched. As we read on, our questions of religious significance might arguably be answered by John Drinkwater's (the next contributing writer in this volume of “The Blue Review”) black and white affirmation: “Art is holy”.
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