46
62
Paul Henry
KEEL VILLAGE,
oil on canvas
signed lower le
18 by 20in. (45.
Provenance:
Private collecti
Adam’s, 28 May
Whence purcha
Exhibited:
‘Paintings by M
Russell (AE), Lei
Literature:
Kennedy, S.B.,
P
London, 2007, c
In original Waddi
The form of the si
signify that this c
August 1911.The
seen from the hig
the middle distan
moderate impast
painting at this ti
blues and greys t
influence that wo
foreground, is ch
composition of t
is larger, althoug
excitement at his
Dr SB Kennedy
February 2013
!
50,000-
!
70,0
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
Death of Procris is distinctive in representing a theme from classical mythology – a rare departure in
Jellettʼs work. The composition suggests familiarity with the painting in the National Gallery in
London, by Piero di Cosimo, then known by the title Death of Procris.3 In common with di Cosim ʼs
arrangement, Procris lies prostrate along the bottom of the canvas, with Cephalos kneeling to the
left. However, Jellett has made changes to aspects of their relative poses with Cephalos apparently
cradling the head of Procris who appears to lie on her back with one knee raised. The pale figure of
Procris, and tanned one of her husband, conforms to older traditions in representation of the genders
and serves to assist in their identification. As with the di Cosimo, the background reads as a broad
landscape; in Jellettʼs work, the forms of rocks, sea, distant land, and clouds are suggested rather
than detailed. The theme story has a number of variations, the best known coming from Ovidʼs
Metamorphoses IV, and is essentially a story of unjustified jealousy and its tragic consequences.
Dr Yvonne Scott October 2013
1 Bruce Arnold, ʻMainie Jellett and the Modern Movement in Irelandʼ, Mainie Jellett 1897-1944,
exhibition catalogue, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin 1991
2 Eileen MacCarvill (ed.), Mainie Jellett, The Artistʼs Vision, Dunalgan Press, Dundalk, 1958 3
Subsequently known as A Satyr Mourning over a Nymph
€30,000-€50,000 (£25,210-£42,020 approx.)
