Saint Patrick's Cross, Cashel

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John Skinner Prout , British, 1806-1876

Title

Datec.1835

MediumWatercolour and graphite on paper

Dimensions

Sheet: 34.5 x 24 cm

Signedlower right: J.S. PROUT

Credit LinePurchased, 2016

Object numberNGI.2016.1

DescriptionThis is an accurate watercolour drawing of the east face of the cross of St Patrick at Cashel, Co. Tipperary. The twelfth century sandstone cross, which was moved indoors some years ago to protect it from erosion, is unusual in that it has side supports for the arms. The figure holding a staff or crozier is usually identified as St Patrick who, according to tradition, baptised the local king, Aengus, on the Rock of Cashel. Prout's rendering of the cross shows details which have since disappeared, indicating how much the stone surface has decayed in the intervening 150 years. The inclusion of a group of figures at the base of the high cross, gives scale to the drawing and indicates the growing public interest in antiquarian sites in the early decades of the nineteenth century.
ProvenancePrivate Collection, UK; purchased, 2016Exhibition HistoryNew Perspectives. Acquisitions 2011 - 2020, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 11 May - 2 August 2021