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George Sharp , Irish, 1802-1877

Title

Repose

Date1867

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions

51 x 42 cm

Credit LinePurchased, 1878

Object numberNGI.85

InscriptionPainted for Henry Toole Esq. by George Sharp. Dublin dec 19 1867 (on reverse)
ProvenancePainted for Henry Toole, 19 December 1867; purchased, Dublin, 1878Label TextSharp ran a successful studio in Dublin, and could count among his students Nathaniel Hone and Harriet O’Hagan, both of whom followed in his footsteps, probably with his encouragement, by enrolling in the atelier of Thomas Couture in Paris. Painted before the onset of a debilitating illness, this enigmatic study is among Sharp’s latest works. Boldly modelled, the elderly man in the picture has a truncated, caricature-like quality that distinguishes many of Sharp’s figures. The model for the old man, a turf carrier, appears in at least one other work by the artist.