Frederic William Burton - For the Love of Art
On a recent visit to Dublin I dropped into the National Gallery for a visit to their current exhibition Frederic William Burton - For the Love of Art.
FWB was born in Ireland in 1816, later moved to London where he was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement flourishing at that time, and died there in 1900. As a result of a childhood illness or accident his right hand did not develop so he painted completely with his left hand. He painted only in water colour and some qouache (a more opaque type of water colour paint), as he did not like the smell of oil paint, and had problems with his eyesight, so it was amazing to see the incredible skill and the quality of his paintings. He was director of the National Gallery in London for 20 years, but led a quiet and unassuming life, and was considered a forgotten figure of Irish Art history until recent years.
These are a few of my favourites from the exhibition, which is running until 14th January - well worth a visit!
Cassandra Fedele, a depiction of the 16th century Venetian poet and musician, which is also housed in the National Gallery, Dublin, is a fabulous painting and alongside is the drawing in Black Chalk (1869).
FWB was born in Ireland in 1816, later moved to London where he was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelite movement flourishing at that time, and died there in 1900. As a result of a childhood illness or accident his right hand did not develop so he painted completely with his left hand. He painted only in water colour and some qouache (a more opaque type of water colour paint), as he did not like the smell of oil paint, and had problems with his eyesight, so it was amazing to see the incredible skill and the quality of his paintings. He was director of the National Gallery in London for 20 years, but led a quiet and unassuming life, and was considered a forgotten figure of Irish Art history until recent years.
These are a few of my favourites from the exhibition, which is running until 14th January - well worth a visit!
Cassandra Fedele, a depiction of the 16th century Venetian poet and musician, which is also housed in the National Gallery, Dublin, is a fabulous painting and alongside is the drawing in Black Chalk (1869).
I also loved this picture of the Bavarian Peasant Girl It is incredible to think that all of these paintings are watercolours as the detail and the quality of the paintings are exceptional.
And of course the most familiar of his works Meeting on the Turret Stairs, which was voted Ireland's most popular painting in 2012.
In the exhibition there are also other contemporaries of Burton and this wonderful one by Ford Madox Brown, called The Irish Girl, (1860) was one of my favourites. Oil paint on canvas, laid on board.
Even though I would not be a great fan of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, I consider their paintings to be overly romanticised and too stylised this large painting by Edward Burne-Jones stopped me in my tracks by it's sheer size, there was something about the dreamy quality of the painting and the languid figures that kind of lure you into a soporific, fairy like world. Oil on canvas, it was painted between 1871-1894, it is one of a series of paintings, and is normally housed in the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin. Height: 4' 13" X Width: 7' 78")
Because of the nature of the water colours they are only on display for a limited period, so it's a good time to see them now at this dark time of the year, they will be housed again in the vault after the 14th January ... so, I'm looking forward to another viewing over Christmas before they disappear!
Comments
Post a Comment