Aloysius O'Kelly
IN THE SUNSHINE, BRITTANY
Lot 21
Price Realised:
€20,000
Estimate:
€20,000 - €30,000
Aloysius O'Kelly, 1853-1936
IN THE SUNSHINE, BRITTANY
Oil on canvas 22 x 18 (59 x 45.7cm), signed; inscribed on the artists original label verso with title and no. 23
Provenance: Private collection, Pennsylvania, USA; Sold these rooms, Irish A...
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Lot 21
Aloysius O'Kelly
IN THE SUNSHINE, BRITTANY
Lot 21
Aloysius O'Kelly
IN THE SUNSHINE, BRITTANY
Estimate:
€20,000 - €30,000
Aloysius O'Kelly, 1853-1936
IN THE SUNSHINE, BRITTANY
Oil on canvas 22 x 18 (59 x 45.7cm), signed; inscribed on the artists original label verso with title and no. 23
Provenance: Private collection, Pennsylvania, USA; Sold these rooms, Irish Art Auction, 29th September, 2009, no.46; Private Collection, Dublin.
Exhibited: Milmo-Penny Fine Art, Dec.2003 catalogue no.1 asA Wayside Conversation.
In this painting, OKelly displays his ability to paint the Breton people in a sensitive and sympathetic manner. By posing his models in a natural setting and draping them in a sumptuous, soft light, he creates an environment of ease and harmony. The shadow cast by the gate suggests a scene painted in the relaxed atmosphere of early evening. He portrays the girl who stands by the gatepost with a fine degree of natural poise and sophistication; there appears to be a lull in the conversation with the younger girl who sits on a stone wall, her concentration unbroken as she busily tends to her knitting. The side of her face is delicately lit by the reflections of her snow-white costume. Her headdress is identical to that shown in another OKelly painting,At the Well, Brittany.In Dr. Niamh OSullivans comprehensive survey on the artist, re-orientations she suggests that this is the costume worn in the region between Quimperl and Concarneau.
There is an additional link between this painting and another remarkably similar work by Thomas Hovenden entitledA Wayside Chat,(offered Adams 2014). Painted in 1875, Hovendens version shows a farm worker sitting on the same gate in conversation with a young girl in similar Breton costume. There is a strong possibility that the gate is located at the end of a path that leads to the farm atLezaven, situated on the outskirts of Pont Aven. Although Hovendens version is not treated as sympathetically, much of the detail is identical, including the leafy background. OKelly and Hovenden were painting together in Brittany in 1875. There is a temptation to date our painting to this period. However, the composition, style and physical condition of the canvas suggest a date in the 1890s or the early 1900s.
IN THE SUNSHINE, BRITTANY
Oil on canvas 22 x 18 (59 x 45.7cm), signed; inscribed on the artists original label verso with title and no. 23
Provenance: Private collection, Pennsylvania, USA; Sold these rooms, Irish Art Auction, 29th September, 2009, no.46; Private Collection, Dublin.
Exhibited: Milmo-Penny Fine Art, Dec.2003 catalogue no.1 asA Wayside Conversation.
In this painting, OKelly displays his ability to paint the Breton people in a sensitive and sympathetic manner. By posing his models in a natural setting and draping them in a sumptuous, soft light, he creates an environment of ease and harmony. The shadow cast by the gate suggests a scene painted in the relaxed atmosphere of early evening. He portrays the girl who stands by the gatepost with a fine degree of natural poise and sophistication; there appears to be a lull in the conversation with the younger girl who sits on a stone wall, her concentration unbroken as she busily tends to her knitting. The side of her face is delicately lit by the reflections of her snow-white costume. Her headdress is identical to that shown in another OKelly painting,At the Well, Brittany.In Dr. Niamh OSullivans comprehensive survey on the artist, re-orientations she suggests that this is the costume worn in the region between Quimperl and Concarneau.
There is an additional link between this painting and another remarkably similar work by Thomas Hovenden entitledA Wayside Chat,(offered Adams 2014). Painted in 1875, Hovendens version shows a farm worker sitting on the same gate in conversation with a young girl in similar Breton costume. There is a strong possibility that the gate is located at the end of a path that leads to the farm atLezaven, situated on the outskirts of Pont Aven. Although Hovendens version is not treated as sympathetically, much of the detail is identical, including the leafy background. OKelly and Hovenden were painting together in Brittany in 1875. There is a temptation to date our painting to this period. However, the composition, style and physical condition of the canvas suggest a date in the 1890s or the early 1900s.
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