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William Orpen , Irish, 1878-1931

Title

Lady with a Birdcage

Date1900-1905

MediumPastel on paper

Dimensions

45 x 31 cm

Signedlower right: ORPEN

Credit LinePurchased, 2009

Object numberNGI.2009.17

DescriptionIn this delicate work, Orpen captures a woman in a moment of silent contemplation, gazing at a birdcage with her back to the viewer. Her pose, with bowed head, and full-length gown, are reminiscent of a painting by Gerard ter Borch, entitled Gallant Conversation (c.1654; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). A master of the Dutch Golden Age, Ter Borch was renowned for his virtuoso rendering of pearlescent satin.
Dutch seventeenth-century genre scenes, evoking an atmosphere of distilled, meditative calm, inspired Orpen in his student days at the Slade School of Fine Art in London.
The model may be Orpen’s wife Grace Knewstub, whom he married in 1901, as the hair colour and style match her appearance at that time. By repeating the rich colour of her heavily draped skirt in her upswept hair and the table, Orpen creates a subtle balance throughout the composition. The style and subject matter of this pastel date it to the opening years of the twentieth century. The use of the paper colour as an integral feature of the work and the drawn black border are typical characteristics of Orpen’s early works on paper.

March 2016