A CONNEMARA GIRL (c. 1872)
The artist Augustus Burke painted 'A Connemara Girl,' one of the most identifiable paintings in Ireland, in the early 1870s.
It portrays a young Irish colleen who gathers heather on a hillside overlooking the sea in Connemara. Walking barefooted across uneven terrain, she clutches her bundle tightly as she gazes, wide-eyed but with a look of calm determination, towards the viewer.
Burke first visited Connemara in the 1860s and was familiar with the landscape and its people.
The inclusion of a pair of mountain goats alludes to the strong connection between rural communities and their environment.
The girl’s home-spun clothing and red shawl are typical of West of Ireland costumes, and the everyday subjectmatter lends a sense of realism to the picture.
Burke was born in Galway but attended school in England and studied painting in London, where he remained for a number of years. In 1869, he returned to Dublin, developing a reputation as a landscape and subject painter.
In 1883 he left Ireland following the assassination in the Phoenix Park of his brother Thomas Henry, Undersecretary for Ireland, by the Invincibles the year before. He settled in London before moving to Italy where he remained for the rest of his life.
Picture and information courtesy National Gallery of Ireland
The artist Augustus Burke painted 'A Connemara Girl,' one of the most identifiable paintings in Ireland, in the early 1870s.
It portrays a young Irish colleen who gathers heather on a hillside overlooking the sea in Connemara. Walking barefooted across uneven terrain, she clutches her bundle tightly as she gazes, wide-eyed but with a look of calm determination, towards the viewer.
Burke first visited Connemara in the 1860s and was familiar with the landscape and its people.
The inclusion of a pair of mountain goats alludes to the strong connection between rural communities and their environment.
The girl’s home-spun clothing and red shawl are typical of West of Ireland costumes, and the everyday subjectmatter lends a sense of realism to the picture.
Burke was born in Galway but attended school in England and studied painting in London, where he remained for a number of years. In 1869, he returned to Dublin, developing a reputation as a landscape and subject painter.
In 1883 he left Ireland following the assassination in the Phoenix Park of his brother Thomas Henry, Undersecretary for Ireland, by the Invincibles the year before. He settled in London before moving to Italy where he remained for the rest of his life.
Picture and information courtesy National Gallery of Ireland
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire