Of Louis Le Brocquy

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

The “Inscapes” of Louis le Brocquy Karen E. Brown For me, as perhaps for our Celtic and Gallic ancestors, the human head can be re- garded ambivalently as a box which holds the spirit prisoner, but which may also free it transparently within the face. Paradoxically, as we know, the face is at once a mask which hides the spirit and a revelation, an incarnation of this spirit. (le Brocquy, “Notes,” qtd. in Walker, 147) In 1964, painter and illustrator Louis le Brocquy (b. Dublin, 1916) “discovered” Polynesian ancestral skulls displayed in the Musée de l’Homme in Paris. The skulls are over-modelled in clay often with cowrie shells inserted for eyes, and the artist described them as being “painted ritualistically to contain the spirit” (le Brocquy, The Head Image 7, 22). A year afterwards le Brocquy drew an analogy between them and the head-cult of Celto-Ligurian origin which had been practiced near Aix-en-Provence, in Irish mythology such as the story of The Taín, and in archaeological sites such as the carved portal heads at Dysert O’Dea (le Brocquy, The Head Image 22; Walker 51; Kinsella).1 From 1968, the artist developed the head image in book illustration, tapestries, and “studies towards” portraits of leading Irish literary and cultural figures including W. B. Yeats (1865–1939), James Joyce (1882–1941), and Samuel Beckett (1906–89; figs. 1–3). My response to these head images has led me to refer to them in the title of this essay as “inscapes.” This was a term used by the English Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89)2 which resonates with le Brocquy’s “revelations” encapsulated in the quotation above. In his writings le Brocquy frequently uses metaphors derived from landscape and archaeology to describe the conception of his head images. For example, “As I conceive it, there lies behind the face an interior landscape which the painter tries to discover” (le Brocquy, “Notes,” qtd. in Walker, 147), and, “I think of the painter as a kind of archaeologist, … patiently disturbing the surface of things” (le Brocquy, The Head Image 24). In works such as figs. 1–3 these concepts are rich: each of the faces is rendered in oils on a white canvas background, and paint is applied with flicks and jabs, the brush often loaded with several bright colors. Interestingly, in a discussion about his landscape paintings in watercolor, le Brocquy stated that he had painted more head images in watercolor than in 100 Karen E. Brown Fig. 1. Louis le Brocquy (b. 1916), Image of William Butler Yeats, 1994. Oil on canvas, 93 x 73 cm. Cork: Crawford Municipal Art Gallery. © The artist. Courtesy of Pierre le Brocquy. oils, and that this experience had helped him to “release” his oil paintings (le Brocquy, The Irish Landscape 10). In a work such as Image of William Butler Yeats (1994; fig. 1) this “release” is apparent in the brush strokes around the contours of the face, in lost and found edges around the sides of the face, and in the areas of thick impasto which add a third dimension to the image. Art historians, critics, and poets including Anne Crookshank, Dorothy Walker, Anne Madden, Seamus Heaney, and John Montague have written eloquently about the artist’s head images.3 However, in the light of recent .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Call No. Responsibility Item Publication Details Date Note 1
Call no. Responsibility Item Publication details Date Note TKNC0001 Roberts, H. Song, to a gay measure Dublin: printed at the Dolmen 1951 "200 copies." Neville Press TKNC0002 Promotional notice for Travelling tinkers, a book of Dolmen Press ballads by Sigerson Clifford TKNC0003 Promotional notice for Freebooters by Mauruce Kennedy Dolmen Press TKNC0004 Advertisement for Dolmen Press Greeting cards &c Dolmen Press TKNC0005 The reporter: the magazine of facts and ideas. Volume July 16, 1964 contains 'In the 31 no. 2 beginning' (verse) by Thomas Kinsella TKNC0006 Clifford, Travelling tinkers Dublin: Dolmen Press 1951 Of one hundred special Sigerson copies signed by the author this is number 85. Insert note from Thomas Kinsella. TKNC0007 Kinsella, Thomas The starlit eye / Thomas Kinsella ; drawings by Liam Dublin: Dolmen Press 1952 Set and printed by hand Miller at the Dolmen Press, Dublin, in an edition of 175 copies. March 1952. (p. [8]). TKNC0008 Kinsella, Thomas Galley proof of Poems [Glenageary, County Dublin]: 1956 Galley proof Dolmen Press TKNC0009 Kinsella, Thomas The starlit eye / Thomas Kinsella ; drawings by Liam Dublin : Dolmen Press 1952 Of twenty five special Miller copies signed by the author this is number 20. Set and printed by hand at the Dolmen Press, Dublin, in an edition of 175 copies. March 1952. TKNC0010 Promotional postcard for Love Duet from the play God's Dolmen Press gentry by Donagh MacDonagh TKNC0011 Irish writing. No. 24 Special issue - Young writers issue Dublin Sep-53 1 Thomas Kinsella Collection Listing Call no. Responsibility Item Publication details Date Note TKNC0012 Promotional notice for Dolmen Chapbook 3, The perfect Dolmen Press 1955 wife a fable by Robert Gibbings with wood engravings by the author TKNC0013 Pat and Mick Broadside no.
[Show full text]
Louis Le Brocquy Is a Self-Taught Artist Who Has Come to Be Louis Recognised Both at Home and Internationally As the Foremost Irish Painter of the 20Th Century
stoney road press Born in Dublin in 1916, Louis le Brocquy is a self-taught artist who has come to be Louis recognised both at home and internationally as the foremost Irish painter of the 20th Century. Le Brocquy left Ireland in 1938 to study the major European art collections in le Brocquy London, Paris, Venice, Spain and Geneva. His return to Dublin signaled the advent of the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, which established an effective forum for contempo- rary art in Dublin in 1943. In 1946 le Brocquy moved to London and became prominent in the contempo- rary art scene. He began to exhibit internationally, winning a major prize at the Venice Biennale in 1956. In 1958, he was included in the historic exhibition Fifty Years of Mod- ern Art, at the Brussels World Fair. The same year he married the Irish painter Anne Madden and left London to work in the South of France. His work has received much international attention and many accolades in a career that spans seventy years of creative practice. Widely acclaimed for his evocative heads of literary figures and fellow artists, including W.B. Yeats, James Joyce and his friends Samuel Beckett, Francis Bacon, Seamus Heaney and Bono, Le Brocquy’s inqui- ry into the human condition is seminal to his motivation as a painter. Acknowledged by museum retrospective exhibitions worldwide, the artist’s work is represented in numerous public collections, from the Guggenheim, New York to the Tate, London. In Ireland he was elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1994 and is honoured as the first and only living painter to be included in the Permanent Irish Collection of the National Gallery.
[Show full text]
Literary Miscellany
Literary Miscellany A Selection from Recent Acquisitions and Stock Including Prose and Poetry from the 17th - 20th Centuries Association Copies and Letters Fine Printing, Illustrated Books, Film Material, And Varia of Other Sorts Catalogue 306 WILLIAM REESE COMPANY 409 TEMPLE STREET NEW HAVEN, CT. 06511 USA 203.789.8081 FAX: 203.865.7653 [email protected] www.reeseco.com TERMS Material herein is offered subject to prior sale. All items are as described, but are consid- ered to be sent subject to approval unless otherwise noted. Notice of return must be given within ten days unless specific arrangements are made prior to shipment. All returns must be made conscientiously and expediently. Connecticut residents must be billed state sales tax. Postage and insurance are billed to all non-prepaid domestic orders. Orders shipped outside of the United States are sent by air or courier, unless otherwise requested, with full charges billed at our discretion. The usual courtesy discount is extended only to recognized booksellers who offer reciprocal opportunities from their catalogues or stock. We have 24 hour telephone answering and a Fax machine for receipt of orders or messages. Catalogue orders should be e-mailed to: [email protected] We do not maintain an open bookshop, and a considerable portion of our literature inven- tory is situated in our adjunct office and warehouse in Hamden, CT. Hence, a minimum of 24 hours notice is necessary prior to some items in this catalogue being made available for shipping or inspection (by appointment) in our main offices on Temple Street. We accept payment via Mastercard or Visa, and require the account number, expiration date, CVC code, full billing name, address and telephone number in order to process payment.
[Show full text]
World Literature
world literature Peter Harrington london This catalogue celebrates the international conversation that is literature, and the creativity that can spark when writers and texts cross national, linguistic, and cultural borders. For his lifelong commitment to literary internationalism, Jorge Luis Borges is a key figure here. One of the star items is Borges’s own annotated copy of Dante (20). Another is a man- uscript of the only poem he composed in the English language (17). We also have a scarce signed set of his Biblioteca de Babel series (21), which brought the great short stories of world literature to a South American audience. Many other items connect notable authors across place and time: Dylan Thomas’s school- boy copy of Omar Khayyám (item 179), T. S. Eliot’s Rimbaud (61), and E. M. Forster’s Chek- hov (41), for example. Among international presentations, Umberto Eco’s Name of the Rose to García Márquez is a show-stopper (58), as is García Márquez inscribing One Hundred Years of Solitude to his English publisher (67). A compelling example of international readership is found in a first American edition of Moby Dick being read by a poet in Hawaii who correspond- We are exhibiting at these fairs: ed with Melville (127). Classical literature is fundamental to our global network of inspiration, and where else to begin but with the editio princeps of Homer, printed in Florence in 1488 (83)? We also have, list- 7–9 June 2019 ed under its translator’s name, a scarce inscribed copy of T. E. Lawrence’s beautifully-printed firsts london English version (109).
[Show full text]
Important Irish Art Wednesday 3Rd December 2014
1 Important Irish Art Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Important Irish Art, wednesday 3rd December 2014 at 6pm t 2 Front Cover Paul Henry Lot 60 Page 1 Walter Osborne Lot 69 Page 2 Frank McKelvey Lot 56 Page 4/5 Louis le brocquy Lot 82 Page 7 Colin Middleton Lot 87 Inside Back Cover Camille Souter Lot 93 Back Cover Jack B. yeats Lot 61 Important Irish Art Auction Wednesday 3rd December 2014 at 6pm Important Irish Art, wednesday 3rd December 2014 at 6pm 4 5 IMPORTANT IRISH ART AUCTION Wednesday 3rd December 2014 at 6.00pm VENUE Adam’s Salerooms 26 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Ireland Viewing HighLights NoveMBER 13TH - 20TH At The Ava Gallery, Clandeboye Estate, Bangor, Co. Down BT19 IRN Monday - Friday 11.00am - 5.00pm Saturday 15th november 2.00pm - 5.00pm Sunday 16th November 2.00pm - 5.00pm FULL SALE Viewing NoveMBER 30TH - DeceMBER 3RD At Adam’s, 26 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2. Sunday 30th November 2.00pm - 5.00pm Monday 1st December 10.00am - 5.00pm Tuesday 2 nd December 10.00am - 5.00pm Wednesday 3rd December 10.00am - 5.00pm Important Irish Art, wednesday 3rd December 2014 at 6pm 6 7 Important Irish Art, wednesday 3rd December 2014 at 6pm 8 Brian Coyle FSCSI FRICS James O’Halloran BA FSCSI FRICS Stuart Cole MSCSI MRICS David Britton BBS ACA Eamon O’Connor BA CHAIRMAN MANAGING DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Nick Nicholson Kieran O’Boyle BA Hdip ASCSI Ronan Flanagan Karen Regan BA Abigail Bernon BA FINE ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER FINE ART DEPARTMENT FINE ART DEPARTMENT IMPORTANT INFORMATIONCONSULTANT FOR PURCHASERS FINE ART DEPARTMENT [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] CREATE A ‘MY ADAM’S’ ACCOUNT You can now create your own account with us by signing up and registering your particulars online at www.adams.ie The process involves uploading identification by way of passport or driving licence and supplying valid credit card information.
[Show full text]
Ambivalent Homecomings: Louis Le Brocquy, Francis Bacon and the Mechanics of Canonization
FIElD DAy REVIEw 170 Fig. 1: Louis le Brocquy, A Family (detail), 1951 Oil on canvas, 147 x 185 cm Ambivalent Collection National Gallery of Ireland © the artist Homecomings: Louis le Brocquy, Francis Bacon and the Mechanics of Canonization Lucy Cotter In 2001 two significant homecomings were celebrated in the Irish art world. The first surrounded the public opening of Francis Bacon’s studio in Dublin, the city of the artist’s birth. Following a donation by Bacon’s sole heir, John Edwards, the entire studio was dismantled at its location at Reece Mews in London, transported, and painstakingly reconstructed at the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art (now Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane). The second homecoming was the donation of Louis le 1 Medb Ruane, ‘Le Brocquy’s, The Family’, Brocquy’s A Family (1951), a Irish Arts Review, 19, 1 (2002), 22–23, 23. painting that had been central to FielD DAy Review 7 2011 171 FIElD DAy REVIEw historic debates on modernism in the Irish Keith Vaughan, Robert MacBryde, Robert 2 For an overview of context, to the National Gallery of Ireland Colquhoun, Josef Herman, John Minton, British art in the post-war period, see David Mellor, in Dublin. When le Brocquy represented Graham Sutherland and Lucian Freud. ‘Existentialism and Post- Ireland at the Venice Biennale in 1956, the The tension between abstraction and War British Art’, in F. painting had been awarded the prestigious figuration haunted them all. Most were Morris, ed., Paris Post-War: Art and Existentialism, Nestlé-endowed Premio Aquisitato prize influenced by Pablo Picasso’s legacy of 1945–55 (London, 1993), and had hung in the company’s Milan abstracted figuration, which many had 53–56, and Margaret offices until 2001, when it was acquired by become familiar with thanks to Jankel Garlake, New Art New World: British Art in an Irish businessman for donation to the Adler, a Jewish Polish artist who moved to Postwar Society (London, National Gallery.
[Show full text]
Catalogue 140
De Búrca Rare Books A selection of fine, rare and important books and manuscripts Catalogue 140 Autumn 2019 DE BÚRCA RARE BOOKS Cloonagashel, 27 Priory Drive, Blackrock, County Dublin. 01 288 2159 01 288 6960 CATALOGUE 140 Autumn 2019 PLEASE NOTE 1. Please order by item number: Wilde is the code word for this catalogue which means: “Please forward from Catalogue 140: item/s ...”. 2. Payment strictly on receipt of books. 3. You may return any item found unsatisfactory, within seven days. 4. All items are in good condition, octavo, and cloth bound, unless otherwise stated. 5. Prices are net and in Euro. Other currencies are accepted. 6. Postage, insurance and packaging are extra. 7. All enquiries/orders will be answered. 8. We are open to visitors, preferably by appointment. 9. Our hours of business are: Mon. to Fri. 9 a.m.-5.30 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. 10. As we are Specialists in Fine Books, Manuscripts and Maps relating to Ireland, we are always interested in acquiring same, and pay the best prices. 11. We accept: Visa and Mastercard. There is an administration charge of 2.5% on all credit cards. 12. All books etc. remain our property until paid for. 13. Text and images copyright © De Burca Rare Books. 14. All correspondence to 27 Priory Drive, Blackrock, County Dublin. Telephone (01) 288 2159. International + 353 1 288 2159 (01) 288 6960. International + 353 1 288 6960 Fax (01) 283 4080. International + 353 1 283 4080 e-mail [email protected] web site www.deburcararebooks.com COVER ILLUSTRATIONS: Our front cover illustration is taken from item 430, a fine, signed photograph of Oscar Wilde.
[Show full text]
Louis Le Brocquy's Image of Bono (2003) Shane Mccausland
"An archaeology of the spirit" – Louis le Brocquy’s Image of Bono (2003) Shane McCausland The subject of this painting is an Irish rock singer, who is also recognised all over the globe as a philanthropist and humanitarian activist against Third-World disease and poverty. He is known simply as Bono, a childhood nickname. Some people will be familiar with moving, sounding images of Bono on the television, whether speaking about debt relief or HIV/AIDS at global summits or singing in concert or on pop videos with his hugely successful group, U2. Some will recognise him from U2’s album covers. With Bono as its lead singer and lyric writer, U2 has made a deep mark in late modern social history and culture. The band has been releasing music since 1980 and sold more than 100 million albums, but has also lent its support to organizations such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and the Burma Action Campaign. Since the early days of U2, through the lyrics of songs, Bono has not been afraid to take on the establishment and cultivate a rebellious image. He confronted head-on issues including Northern Ireland’s ‘troubles’. Songs like ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ called attention to such atrocities as the shooting dead of 13 unarmed civil rights marchers by British paratroopers in Derry on 30 January 1972. Famously, Bono repeatedly announced at concerts that this was ‘not a Rebel song’ (i.e., not an IRA [terrorist] song), suggesting its motives were strongly humanitarian rather than political or sectarian. But it is only more recently that Bono’s public image has broadened to encompass his role in advocacy, particularly with regard to debt relief and the treatment of HIV and AIDS in Africa, which has brought him attention and recognition as a humanitarian in his own right.
[Show full text]
KINSELLA, THOMAS. Thomas Kinsella Papers, 1951-2016
KINSELLA, THOMAS. Thomas Kinsella papers, 1951-2016 Emory University Robert W. Woodruff Library Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library Atlanta, GA 30322 404-727-6887 [email protected] Collection Stored Off-Site All or portions of this collection are housed off-site. Materials can still be requested but researchers should expect a delay of up to two business days for retrieval. Descriptive Summary Creator: Kinsella, Thomas. Title: Thomas Kinsella papers, 1951-2016 Call Number: Manuscript Collection No. 774 Extent: 56 linear feet (102 boxes), 5 oversized bound volumes (OBV), 94 oversized papers folder (OP), and 6.3 MB born digital material (20 files) Abstract: Literary papers of Irish poet Thomas Kinsella which include manuscripts, correspondence, photographs, and correspondence. Language: Materials entirely in English. Administrative Information Restrictions on access Special restrictions apply: Collection stored off-site. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance to access this collection. Access to processed born digital materials is only available in the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library (the Rose Library). Use of the original digital media is restricted. Terms Governing Use and Reproduction All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction. Related Materials in This Repository Seamus Deane papers Desmond O'Grady papers Emory Libraries provides copies of its finding aids for use only in research and private study. Copies supplied may not be copied for others or otherwise distributed without prior consent of the holding repository. Thomas Kinsella papers, 1951-2016 Manuscript Collection No. 774 Source Purchase from Charles Seluzicki, 1995 with subsequent additions in 1998 from Charles Seluzicki, and in 2013 and 2018 from Thomas Kinsella Custodial History The Rose Library purchased the initial acquisition from book dealer Charles Seluzicki acting on behalf of Thomas Kinsella.
[Show full text]
JELLETT Mainie
The Trinity College Dublin Art Collections Artist: Mainie Jellett Title: Four Elements (sketch) (1928) Medium: gouache on paper Notes: exhibited: The College Gallery, The Ulster Museum, Belfast, 20 March – 17 April 1963, cat. no. 40 b.1897,Dublin d.1944, Dublin Jellett began studying art in 1914 with Drawing and Fine Art Painting at the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, and later under Walter Sickert at Westminster Technical Institute, London. She then went on to study in the studios of André l’Hôte and Albert Gleizes in Paris (1920-21). In addition to being an artist, she was an art writer, and an art teacher and lecturer in Dublin and Cork during the 1930s. Jellett is particularly important in the history of Irish art, along with Mary Swanzy and her close friend, Evie Hone, for being one of the earliest practitioners of abstraction in Ireland. In 1923 Jellett staged an exhibition of modern art at the Society of Dublin Painters. In spite of the critics’ horror at the show, later art critics acknowledge the importance of such a show in developing the link between Irish and European art. In addition to Irish exhibitions, Jellett showed her work in Paris, Versailles, Brussels, London and Amsterdam during the 1920s. She exhibited at the Royal Hibernian Academy from 1930-37, and with the Water Colour Society of Ireland from 1931-37. Jellett remained resilient against detractors, with this toughness perhaps stemming from her firm Christian beliefs. Even though a number of her works are abstract, they have religious titles and are similar to icon paintings in tone and palate.
[Show full text]
Uva-DARE (Digital Academic Repository)
UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Curating, cultural capital and symbolic power: representations of Irish art in London, 1950-2010 Cotter, L.Á. Publication date 2011 Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Cotter, L. Á. (2011). Curating, cultural capital and symbolic power: representations of Irish art in London, 1950-2010. Eigen Beheer. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:24 Sep 2021 Works Cited “0044”, P.S.1 Gallery. Press Release. June 1999. Consulted: September 2009. <http://ps1.org/exhibitions/view/245> Adamson, Walter L. (1980) Hegemony and Revolution: A Study of Antonio Gramsci’s Political and Cultural Theory. Berkeley, L.A. and London: University of California Press Alcobia-Murphy, Shane (2005) Introduction.
[Show full text]
Louis Le Brocquy's Philosophical <I>Navigatio</I>
Journal of Franco-Irish Studies Volume 1 Issue 1 "Encounters / La rencontre" Article 3 Editor: Jean-Christophe Penet 2008 Louis le Brocquy’s Philosophical Navigatio Paula Murphy Mater Dei Institute of Education, Dublin City University Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/jofis Part of the Fine Arts Commons Recommended Citation Murphy, Paula (2008) "Louis le Brocquy’s Philosophical Navigatio," Journal of Franco-Irish Studies: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 3. Available at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/jofis/vol1/iss1/3 Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License. Murphy: Louis le Brocquy’s Philosophical <i>Navigatio</i> Louis le Brocquy’s Philosophical Navigatio Dr Paula Murphy, Mater Dei Institute of Education, DCU Louis le Brocquy is probably the most celebrated Irish artist of the last century, and the commendations received on the celebration of his ninetieth birthday in 2006, including numerous exhibition retrospectives worldwide, and an RTE Arts Lives documentary dedicated to his life and work, confirm this estimation. Since the 1970s, an important aspect of his work has been the portrait heads series, which is a collection of paintings of famous artistic figures that includes Shakespeare, W.B. Yeats, Seamus Heaney, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce and Bono, amongst others. Le Brocquy’s heads are not traditional portraits. On the contrary, they conglomerate several images of the subject, often from different stages of life, into one painting. Moreover, the representation is not realistic but an attempt to represent both the outer image of the subject and his inner psychical world.
[Show full text]