Garret Morphy, Irish, c.1650-1716
Title: Portrait of James Bryan (b.1674) of Jenkinstown, Co. Kilkenny
Date: c.1690
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions:
66 x 53.5 cm
Credit Line: Purchased, 1995 (Lane Fund)
Object Number: NGI.4615
ProvenanceBy family descent to Augusta Bryan, wife of Edward, Lord Bellow; purchased, Sotheby's, London, 2 June 1995, lot 204 (Lane Fund)
Label TextJames Bryan was from a family of substantial landowners, who were intermarried with several Catholic families in County Kilkenny. A recumbent pose and situation outdoors were used in Elizabethan times to convey melancholia or to mark bereavement. However, they were subsequently favoured as a means of representing contemplation and intellect. Fine detail, such as the squirrel on a chain, suggest the influence of earlier Dutch painting. As Morphy is better known for his softer finish and more instinctive application of paint, it is possible that parts of the panel were completed by another hand.