Roderic O'Conor, Irish, 1860-1940
Title: La Jeune Bretonne
Date: c.1895
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions:
65 x 50 cm
Signed: lower right: R. O'Conor 9[?]
Credit Line: Purchased, 1975 (Shaw Fund)
Object Number: NGI.4134
DescriptionO’Conor painted several studies of young Breton women engaged in quiet activity or, as here, reverie. The subject is conventional, and echoes the work of countless visitors to Brittany in the final decades of the nineteenth century. However, O’Conor records the local girl’s traditional costume as much for its pictorial qualities as for its cultural significance.
The distinctive palette and style evident in this painting, meanwhile, represent a move away from the more naturalistic and tonal pictorial models O’Conor would have been encouraged to follow as a student in Antwerp. The artist’s associates in Brittany included Paul Gauguin and Paul Serusier, and though their influence was apparent in the Irishman’s increasingly expressive technique and use of vibrant colour, O’Conor’s style remained distinctively his own. This painting features many characteristics that would soon become typical of O’Conor’s work, not least the deliberate and effective juxtaposition of opposing colours. The young woman’s cap, for example, features various shades of green, pink, yellow and white. Similarly innovative is O’Conor’s clear division of both the figure and the background into dark and light sides. The placement of the figure’s illuminated side against a light background is the antithesis of traditional chiaroscuro.
March 2016
The distinctive palette and style evident in this painting, meanwhile, represent a move away from the more naturalistic and tonal pictorial models O’Conor would have been encouraged to follow as a student in Antwerp. The artist’s associates in Brittany included Paul Gauguin and Paul Serusier, and though their influence was apparent in the Irishman’s increasingly expressive technique and use of vibrant colour, O’Conor’s style remained distinctively his own. This painting features many characteristics that would soon become typical of O’Conor’s work, not least the deliberate and effective juxtaposition of opposing colours. The young woman’s cap, for example, features various shades of green, pink, yellow and white. Similarly innovative is O’Conor’s clear division of both the figure and the background into dark and light sides. The placement of the figure’s illuminated side against a light background is the antithesis of traditional chiaroscuro.
March 2016
ProvenanceMr Jellinet, Paris; Mr Jacques Spiess, Paris; Crane Kalman Gallery, London; purchased, Crane Kalman Gallery, London, 1975
Exhibition HistoryA Century of Irish Painting, University of Galway, Galway, 1983
The Irish Impressionists, Irish Artists in France and Belgium, 1850-1914, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 9 October - 18 November 1984; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 1 February - 10 March 1985
Roderic O'Conor, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 12 September - 3 November 1985; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 15 November 1985 - 18 January 1986; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 30 January - 8 March 1986; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 14 March - 10 May 1986
Roderic O'Conor, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 12 September - 3 November 1985; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 15 November 1985 - 18 January 1986; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 30 January - 8 March 1986; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 14 March - 10 May 1986
Onlookers in France: Irish Realist and Impressionist Painters, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 1 October - 22 November 1993
French 19th and 20th Century Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland: Corot to Picasso, Daimaru Museum, Tokyo, 5 September - 17 September 1996; Daimaru Museum, Kyoto, 10 October - 22 October 1996; Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi, 26 October - 2 December 1996; Daimaru Museum, Umeda,Osaka, 22 January - 9 February 1997; Aomori Municpal Gallery of Art, Aomori, 2 April - 20 April 1997
Irish Artists in Brittany, Musée de Pont-Aven, Pont-Aven, 26 June - 27 September 1999
Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015
The Irish Impressionists, Irish Artists in France and Belgium, 1850-1914, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 9 October - 18 November 1984; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 1 February - 10 March 1985
Roderic O'Conor, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 12 September - 3 November 1985; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 15 November 1985 - 18 January 1986; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 30 January - 8 March 1986; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 14 March - 10 May 1986
Roderic O'Conor, Barbican Art Gallery, London, 12 September - 3 November 1985; Ulster Museum, Belfast, 15 November 1985 - 18 January 1986; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 30 January - 8 March 1986; Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester, 14 March - 10 May 1986
Onlookers in France: Irish Realist and Impressionist Painters, Crawford Art Gallery, Cork, 1 October - 22 November 1993
French 19th and 20th Century Paintings from the National Gallery of Ireland: Corot to Picasso, Daimaru Museum, Tokyo, 5 September - 17 September 1996; Daimaru Museum, Kyoto, 10 October - 22 October 1996; Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, Yamanashi, 26 October - 2 December 1996; Daimaru Museum, Umeda,Osaka, 22 January - 9 February 1997; Aomori Municpal Gallery of Art, Aomori, 2 April - 20 April 1997
Irish Artists in Brittany, Musée de Pont-Aven, Pont-Aven, 26 June - 27 September 1999
Lines of Vision. Irish Writers at the National Gallery of Ireland, 8 October 2014 —12 April 2015
Label TextO’Conor painted several studies of young Breton women engaged in quiet activity or, as here, reverie. The subject is conventional, and echoes the work of countless visitors to Brittany in the final decades of the nineteenth century. However, O’Conor records the local girl’s traditional costume as much for its pictorial qualities as for its cultural significance. The artist’s associates in Brittany included Paul Gauguin and Paul Serusier, and though their influence was apparent in the Irishman’s increasingly expressive technique and use of vibrant colour, O’Conor’s style remained distinctively his own. The deliberate juxtaposition of opposing colours would become typical of O’Conor’s work.