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John Henry Foley RA RHA (1818-1874)
INO AND BACCHUS, 1851
bronze
signed and dated lower left
9.5 by 18.5 by 6.5 in. (24.13 by 46.99 by 16.51cm)
Dimensions of base 3.4 by 20 by 9.5in.
In 1834 the sixteen-year old John Henry Foley left his native Dublin for
London, following in the footsteps of his elder brother Edward, already
established at the sculpture workshop of the celebrated Mr Behnes. He
enrolled in the school of the Royal Academy and quickly won a
studentship for ten years with The Death of Abel.This piece and
Innocence, perhaps inspired by his sister Martha, were exhibited at the
Royal Academy in 1839 to great acclaim. Foley’s talent was recognised
by the influential Art Journal.The following year Ino and Bacchus was
exhibited, to even greater acclaim.
In both subject matter and style it is a neo-classical piece.That is to say,
it imitates the art of ancient Greece and Rome.
The infant Bacchus lies on his back, smiling, reaching for the bunch of
grapes dangled above him by the bare-breasted Ino who lies, smiling,
at his side and leans over him.The naturalness, charm and wit of the
piece affected all who saw it. Prince Albert, the Queen’s consort, was
enthusiastic.
Francis Egerton, Earl of Ellesmere, commissioned a marble copy for his
gallery at Bridgewater House.This poet-politician had inherited
property worth £90,000 a year and a fabulous collection of paintings.
He was sworn to the privy councils of both Britain and Ireland. He
translated French and German literature - he was London’s equivalent
of Macaenas, Rome’s great patron of the Arts.
Ino and Bacchus marked a turning point in the career of the twenty-
two year old from Montgomery Street, Dublin, (Now Foley Street, just
north of Talbot Street.) Son of Jesse Foley, glass-blower turned grocer,
and Eliza Byrne, fromWicklow. It launched him upon a career-path that
led to the heart of Victorian society and major commissions for projects
across the imperial globe from Galway to Calcutta.
A plaster-cast of the model can be found in the permanent collection
of the Royal Dublin Society.
Ronan Sheehan
January, 2015
1
The mythological data given here is drawn from The Oxford Guide to Classical
Mythology in Art
Ronan Sheehan is author of Foley’s Asia: A Sketchbook, University Press,
Dublin 1999.
See on-line catalogue at
www.whytes.iefor an extended note.
€
3,000-
€
4,000 (£2,220-£2,960 approx.)
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,