18
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
24
Aloysius C. O’Kelly (1853-1936)
UN VERRE DE VIN
oil on canvas
signed lower right
26 by 21½in. (66 by 53cm)
Exhibited:
‘An Exhibition of 17th - 20th Century Irish Paintings’, Gorry
Gallery, Dublin, 19 May to 2 June 2010, catalogue no. 30
(illustrated p.28)
Provenance:
O’Sullivan, Niamh,
Aloysius O’Kelly: Art Nation, Empire,
Dublin
2010, catalogue no. 81
O’Kelly executed a number of portraits of elderly men and women to
exude character.These demonstrate his vigorous prowess as a portrait
painter.What these portraits show is a progressively fluid and
impressionistic treatment, as the handling becomes looser and livelier.
The fisherman is dressed in his working clothes, smock and sabots.
Pannier at his feet, he is smiling and at ease. Although verging on the
monochromatic he seems to be full of the joys of life. Somewhat
unusually for O’Kelly – who tends towards solemn when treating the
fishermen and farmers, the labourers of the western seaboards of
France and Ireland – this one has the air of a bon viveur.
Sitting by the rustic table, bottle to hand, traces of Bonnat’s influence,
specifically his rugged naturalism, can clearly be discerned. In the
virtuosity of draughtsmanship, these portraits are a tribute to Gérôme
while the loose yet controlled brushwork, broad values, and the use of
dramatic light and shade are a testimony to Bonnat’s realist teaching.
But, ultimately, O’Kelly’s portraits are his own. From the late 1870s
through to his old age, he produced a range of rural portraits of
considerable power. Although psychologically penetrative, in many
respects these portraits are less about the individual than the human
condition.
We are grateful to the Gorry Gallery and Prof. Niamh O’Sullivan for their
permission to reproduce this note.
€
5,000-
€
7,000 (£4,130-£5,790 approx.)
