The model for the young figure standing on top of the well (and the man in profile on the right) is Orpen’s studio assistant Seán Keating. A regular visitor to the west of Ireland, Keating had often encouraged Orpen to travel there himself. Here, he wears items of traditional costume that he had given to Orpen after a visit to the Aran Islands in 1915. The inclusion of figures in various stages of undress, submitting dutifully in the presence of a monk, was undoubtedly intended to shock. Orpen’s use throughout the composition of a new ‘marble medium’, also contributed to the painting’s impact. Flat and opaque, it enhances the decorative quality and symbolic character of the work. As Orpen was a master of realism, this fresco-like painting represented a significant departure in his work, and a response perhaps to more avant-garde movements of the time.
March 2016
William Orpen 1878-1931, A Centenary Exhibition, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1 November - 15 December 1978
Naked Truth: The Nude in Irish Art, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 13 July - 28 October 2018
New English Art Club, London, 1916