Oliver Sheppard
, Irish, 1865-1941
Title
'In Mystery the Soul Abides'Date1913
MediumMarble
Dimensions
62 x 33.5 x 28.5 cm
SignedOliver Sheppard
Credit LinePurchased, 1942
Object numberNGI.8091
DescriptionThe evocative title of this sculpture is derived from a line from the English poet Matthew Arnold’s work ‘Morality’ (1852):‘We cannot kindle when we will/ the fire which in the heart resides;/ the spirit bloweth and is still,/ in mystery our soul abides’. Rather than illustrating the poem, Sheppard’s meditative work was designed to convey poetic beauty, and the title was probably assigned retrospectively. A relatively small piece, the sculpture represents a virtuoso display of modelling and animation. The pose is novel and complex without being awkward, while the treatment of the body is convincing yet delicate. Gazing into space, deeply absorbed in thought, the figure bears an expression that is similarly arresting. Sheppard often depicted female forms emerging from roughly-hewn stone. Having trained in Dublin, London and Paris and worked in England, Sheppard settled in 1902 in Dublin, where he was for several decades Ireland’s most influential teacher of sculpture. From 1904 until his death, he served as professor of sculpture at the Royal Hibernian Academy. He is best-known for his The Death of Cuchulain, on display in the General Post Office in Dublin, but produced several other Celtic Revivalist sculptures, as well as historical monuments, formal portrait busts and portrait medallions.March 2016
ProvenancePurchased, Private Collection, Dublin, 1942Exhibition HistoryRoyal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1913
The 88th Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1917
Paris, 1922
Royal Academy of Arts, London 1928
Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts, Glasgow, 1928
Exhibition of Modern Art, Walker Art Gallery, London, 1928
Exhibition of Irish Art, Aonach Tailteann, 1932
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 1942
Governors, Guardians, Artists, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 15 February 2014 - 11 May 2014
Label TextThe title of this sculpture is derived from a line in Matthew Arnold’s poem Morality (1852). A meditative work, it was designed to convey poetic beauty rather than to illustrate Arnold’s poem. Sheppard often depicted female forms emerging from roughly-hewn stone. He trained in Dublin and London before becoming Professor of Sculpture at the Royal Hibernian Academy. He worked in the New Sculpture tradition and his best known work is The Death of Cúchulainn (GPO, Dublin).