Medium:
Watercolour
on Paper
Size:
36 x 25 cms, 14 x 10 ins
Price:
€
400.00; $ 520.00; £ 264.00
each. Discount available for the full
set.
Some
Greeks, Some Romans
The
River Gods of Ireland, or Heads of the
Rivers, were commissioned by the famous
Architect, James Gandon (1743-1823). Gandon
was a prominent pupil of the great Sir
William Chambers, England’s most
reputable and distinguished architect
of the period, under whom he learned and
developed a Franco-Roman Neo-Classical
style.
Lord
Carlow and Sir William Berisford, who
became his patron, invited Gandon to Ireland.
Gandon’s
first major work was the magnificent Custom
House in Dublin (1781-1791). Gandon commissioned
a virtually unknown stone mason, Edward
Smyth, to depict the principal rivers
of Ireland as part of the external design
to the Custom House. This type of design
was once a common architectural motif
and generally incorporated those elements
closely associated with the flow of the
river in the crowns of the stone heads.
They were part of the make up of bridges,
at the apex, which spanned the rivers.
This
series for the Custom House was completed
in 1786, after which Smyth was to become
Gandon’s principal Sculptor. He
worked on other prominent Gandon developments;
including the Kings Inns, The Four Courts,
Parliament House, O’Connell Bridge,
The Rotunda Hospital and the great mansion
at Emo, Co. Laois.
Gandon’s
forte lay in his mastery of planning,
understanding of details and deployment
of materials.
The
heads that Gandon commissioned inspires
my watercolours for this Exhibition. They
are rarely depicted in colour, as the
originals are masonry grey.
Roger
Cummiskey, Artist and writer. (www.RogerCummiskey.com)
The
Rivers are:
The Atlantic Ocean, The River Bann, The
River Barrow, The River Blackwater, The
River Boyne, Lough Erne, The River Foyle,
The River Lagan, The River Lee, The River
Liffey, The River Nore, The River Shannon,
The River Slaney and the River Suir.
ARTROGER
Let
me know what you think as I would value
your opinion.
Ah!
Dublin - My Dublin.
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