Seán Keating, Irish, 1889-1977
Title: An Allegory
Date: 1924
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
102 x 130 cm
Signed: lower right: Keating
Credit Line: Presented, Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, 1952
Object Number: NGI.1236
DescriptionPainted in the wake of the Irish Civil War, An Allegory is one of several non-commissioned works in which Keating addressed social and political matters affecting contemporary Ireland. In the painting, the artist expresses dismay at the internecine character of the Civil War and communicates his suspicion of the clerical, political and business elite.
In the grounds of a burnt-out country house, a disparate group of characters clusters around a gnarled tree trunk. On the left, a clergyman talks conspiratorially to a finely dressed businessman who turns his back to the figures behind him. Immediately beside them, a young mother (Mother Ireland) sits upright, nursing her baby (a symbol of future generations). Next to them, a dishevelled, bearded man (a self-portrait of the artist) slumps comatose against the base of the tree. In the middle ground, meanwhile, a uniformed soldier of the Free State Army and a member of the anti-Treaty forces, facing in opposite directions, dig a grave in which to bury the tricolour-draped coffin deposited unceremoniously beside them. As well as registering the human and material cost of the Civil War, Keating’s painting points to the divisive nature of the conflict and its future consequences on Irish society. To the artist, the idealism associated with the struggle for independence has been replaced by indifference, disillusionment and personal interest.
March 2016
In the grounds of a burnt-out country house, a disparate group of characters clusters around a gnarled tree trunk. On the left, a clergyman talks conspiratorially to a finely dressed businessman who turns his back to the figures behind him. Immediately beside them, a young mother (Mother Ireland) sits upright, nursing her baby (a symbol of future generations). Next to them, a dishevelled, bearded man (a self-portrait of the artist) slumps comatose against the base of the tree. In the middle ground, meanwhile, a uniformed soldier of the Free State Army and a member of the anti-Treaty forces, facing in opposite directions, dig a grave in which to bury the tricolour-draped coffin deposited unceremoniously beside them. As well as registering the human and material cost of the Civil War, Keating’s painting points to the divisive nature of the conflict and its future consequences on Irish society. To the artist, the idealism associated with the struggle for independence has been replaced by indifference, disillusionment and personal interest.
March 2016
ProvenanceSir Alec Martin; presented to Friends of the National Collections of Ireland; presented, Friends of the National Collections of Ireland, 1952
Exhibition HistoryRoyal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1925
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; St Louis, 1925
Sean Keating Retrospective, Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, May 1963
Sean Keating, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 7 November - 12 December 1989
Europe-Russia-Europe, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, 20 May - 20 July 2007
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh; St Louis, 1925
Sean Keating Retrospective, Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, May 1963
Sean Keating, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 7 November - 12 December 1989
Europe-Russia-Europe, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, 20 May - 20 July 2007
Label TextPainted in the wake of the Civil War, An Allegory is one of several works in which Keating addressed social and political matters affecting contemporary Ireland. In the painting, the artist expresses dismay at the internecine character of the conflict and communicates his suspicion of the clerical, political and business elite. As well as registering the human and material cost of the War, the painting points to its divisive nature and its future consequences on Irish society. To the artist, the idealism associated with the struggle for independence has been replaced by indifference, disillusionment and personal interest.