Auction Date:2011 May 30 @ 18:00 (UTC+01:00 : BST/CET)
Location:Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Dublin, ., Ireland
Sir William Orpen RA RI RHA (1878-1931)
SELF-PORTRAIT ON A CLIFF TOP IN HOWTH
charcoal with gouache and oil on buff coloured card
signed lower right; with another full-length female nude study in pencil exposed on reverse; with typed Jorgensen Fine Art label on reverse
50 by 36cm., 19.7 5 by 14.2 5in.
Sotheby's, 24 March 1994, lot 119;
with Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin;
Where purchased by Jim McNaughton [Art Collector];
His estate sale, Adam’s & Bonhams, 3 December 2008, lot 62;
Where purchased by the present owner
This challenging work, like others in the same ilk, such as Nude on the Hill of Howth, (sold by Whyte’s 15 March 2010, lot 78, €16,500) is likely to be a composite based on an early black chalk or charcoal study of a nude. Probably originally dating to the turn of the twentieth century or the first decade thereafter, Orpen modified it much later, 1931 to be precise. This he achieved mainly by the inclusion of colour, using oil or gouache to partly over-paint or modify the subject and add background in order to place the figure in a totally different context. Works in this small but highly significant part of his oeuvre are amongst his last works, three of which were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1931. They are generally reflective and introspective and may well represent for Orpen a vision of himself, even if his mental and physical deterioration, of which he must have been aware, may conceivably have left him bereft of his ability and skill, so that he no longer had the necessary control of line to create a composition from scratch. In 1931 Orpen realised that his life expectancy was very limited. Thus the need to commit to canvas and paper those expressions of thoughts feelings and emotions he had put off for over a decade became far more urgent. Distilled through the filters of his illness, the out-pouring of his clouded mind became an attempt to reconcile himself with, and embrace, his rapidly approaching death through an introspective evaluation of his life. Ever mindful of his failing faculties, he sought to alleviate technical difficulties by using earlier studies of the nude, created when at the height of his skill, to preserve line, resorting to colour and form where precision was not as essential to create the required effect.
Similarly, as with all these last works, it is set in an indeterminate location, an ethereal plane comprising earth, sea and sky, populated by seagulls and the odd bloom here and there, that may be an idealised reference to Howth and Dublin Bay, but again, although highly likely, it is impossible to be certain. The quality of these works suggest Orpen was trying to aspire to some supernatural vision, as if he was looking through his own approaching death to the after-life. The current offering is no exception, with an almost classical pose of a tormented soul looking down into the abyss. Orpen almost certainly meant it to be a portrait of his own essence and spirit, and given his state of mind, it is this intention that must be considered first and foremost. Just as with Van Gogh, whatever governed Orpen’s thoughts in the last months, he still was able to produce powerful, challenging and enigmatic works. As such these oft dismissed works, including the current one, should not be rejected or ignored. Instead they need to be embraced, for they represent the closing bracket around the artistic life of a great painter.
Christopher Pearson
The Orpen Research Project
May, 2011
Auction Location:
Royal Dublin Society, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, Dublin, ., Ireland
Previewing Details:
The Clyde Rooms, Royal Dublin Society,
Anglesea Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4
Saturday 28 May 10am to 6pm
Sunday 29 May 10am to 6pm
Monday 30 May 10am to 6pm
Guided tours of the exhibition will take place at 3pm on Saturday and Sunday, 28 and 29 May
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
20% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
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