Conscience

‘Conscience’ depicts at the centre on a pathway two men - one in a torn shirt and trousers, hands bound and rope round his neck. The other, a soldier who restrains the man is pointing right to a large stone sculpture in the trees. “Conscience” is just legible on the plinth. At the foot of the sculpture two men are fighting, a third is lying down apparently asleep and a fourth leans against a tree swigging from a bottle. A young couple are also seen top right. A large man holding a jug sits on a mule; beside him a boy wearing the dress of a jester. Behind them left a man displays a tray of jewels to an elderly woman. On the right a woman in an ornate medieval blue dress admires a butterfly on her hand. A man with his back to a woman carrying a child watches her. A large gothic castle is seen among the trees to the left.

Frank Moss Bennett (1874-1952) was a British painter known for painting historic, religious and military scenes, most notably his posthumous portraits of soldiers killed during the First World War.