Roderic O'Conor
, Irish, 1860-1940
Title
The Cliff (La falaise)Date1893
MediumEtching and drypoint on paper
Dimensions
Mount: 50.8 × 61 cm
Plate: 24.8 × 39 cm
SignedLower right; ronoC R
Credit LinePurchased, 2024
Object numberNGI.2024.82
DescriptionThis panoramic composition gives a sense of the rugged beauty of the coastline near Le Pouldu, O’Conor’s base in the early 1890s. This richly inked sheet features all of the etching techniques in Roderic O’Conor’s printmaking repertoire including hatching and retroussage or selective plate-wiping. Recession and depth are achieved by the use of heavy cross-hatching on the left side of the plate that contrast with the looser lines in the sky which draw the eye downwards to the cliffs below. The inscription on the reverse: ‘gravures épreuves. Monsieur Georges Chaudet. 7, rue Rodier Paris. Envoi de M. O’Conor’ avec une etiquette de colis postal ‘no. 9181 Nemours-Paris P.L.M.’ / ‘6 mars 1895’ indicates that it was one of a number of prints sent by O’Conor to Georges Chaudet in Paris. They may have been sent with a view to publishing an edition or showing them in an exhibition. Chaudet, a painter, was at that time acting as Paul Gauguin’s agent.InscriptionOn recto; gravures épreuves. Monsieur Georges Chaudet. 7, rue Rodier Paris. Envoi de M. O’Conor’ avec une etiquette de colis postal ‘no. 9181 Nemours-Paris P.L.M.’ / ‘6 mars 1895’
ProvenanceIn the posession of the artist until 1895; 1895, sent by the artist to Georges Chaudet; 1987, collection of Samuel Josefowitz; Purchased by Eric Gillis for Agnews Srl, 25 October 2023; Purchased, 2024