WHYTE'S in association with CHRISTIE'S - The Ernie O'Malley Collection MONDAY 25 November 2019

112 55 Louis le Brocquy HRHA (1916-2012) A YOUNG TINKER WOMAN, 1945 watercolour and pen signed and dated lower right; signed and titled on reverse 12 by 7in. (30.5 by 17.8cm) Provenance: Purchased by Helen Hooker O’Malley, circa 1945-47; Thence by family descent A Young Tinker Woman is a sensitive representation whose dominant frontality in the image is countered by her tentative expression. The central, full-length figure draws on a longestablished typology for the presentation of the Virgin or Madonna enthroned, referencing the artist’s intimate familiarity with art-historical antecedents. Louis le Brocquy’s work over the years has often paid homage to those he described as his ‘masters’, and he regularly quoted visually from predecessors while bringing his own interpretations to bear. There was a practice in Irish art also, in the early decades of the twentieth century, in conflating female figures with religious icons, related to concepts of national identity. However, le Brocquy pushes the boundaries in relating the most revered and sacred exemplar of womanhood to the most denigrated in society, and there are various examples among his ‘tinker’ series. Here, the monumental centrality, enveloping cloak, and sorrowful expression infer the Mater Dolorosa, evoking established images of the grieving Madonna. A similar black and white drawing by Louis le Brocquy may be a study for this work, or part of his exploration of this typology. (1) Here, the woman’s hands are shown twice - wringing in despair, and clutching at a bunch of flowers, whose potential symbolism ranges from consolation to marriage. The technique employed in A Young Tinker Woman involves drawing in pen and ink, as well as with candle wax which acts as a ‘resist’ to the paint, leaving pale lines and surfaces, a method he explored effectively in a number of the works of this period. Typical also is the expressive use of fluid, fine black line to express character through countenance and gesture. Dr Yvonne Scott September 2019 1 . See illustration in Yvonne Scott, ‘Louis le Brocquy Allegory and Legend’ in catalogue for exhibition, op. cit. p.14. €10,000-€15,000 (£8,770-£13,160 approx.) Click Here for Large Images & To Bid Lot 55