Towards Night and Winter
Artist
Frank Joseph O'Meara
(1853 - 1888)
Date1885
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions150 x 125 cm
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery.
Lane Gift, 1912.
Object number26
DescriptionTowards Night and Winter is a fine example of plein-air painting as practised by O'Meara at the artist's colony of Grez, a picturesque village on the banks of the river Loing near Fontainebleau. After a period of study at the atelier of Carolus-Duran in Paris, O'Meara worked at Grez from the mid-1870s onwards. In this painting, a graceful young girl, in a plain grey dress, is engrossed in the activity of burning leaves on the banks of the river. A sense of stillness and calm infuses this work. The paint is carefully applied and the colours - greens, browns and greys - are muted in tone. The solid forms of the houses in the background are reflected in the almost static river. The foreground of grass and leaves is painted in a more impressionistic style. In his compositions, O'Meara tended to favour single figures and this contributes to the melancholic atmosphere of his paintings. Indeed, there is a wistful, lyrical quality about much of O'Meara's work and many of his themes are on autumn or winter subjects. In this regard, Millais was an influence and O'Meara was inspired by his painting Autumn Leaves, which shows three girls making a bonfire of leaves. The Symbolist works of Puvis de Chavannes, were also influential.
The lone figure in this painting has been identified as Mary Isabelle Bowes, O'Meara's muse and lover. The two met on one of Bowes' visits to Grez in 1880. One of the first paintings for which Bowes modelled is 'The Widow', begun in 1881. Bowes, or 'Belle' as she was also known, modelled for several of O'Meara's works and she was also painted by a number of other visiting artists, including Sir John Lavery. While 'Belle' patiently posed for extended periods of time, thus enabling O'Meara to realise his artistic pursuits, O'Meara in turn encouraged 'Belle' to pursue her interest in photography. The two lovers were engaged for many years, and, while both of their families approved of the relationship, the couple were urged to delay the marriage until the artist's financial circumstances improved.
The backdrop for this painting is the artist's colony of Grez sur Loing. Several artists including John Lavery and William Stott of Oldham spent time at Grez but O'Meara spent by far the longest amount of time in the area- from c. 1875-1888- only returning to his native co. Carlow at the end of his young life. The landscapes and atmosphere clearly made a lasting impression on the Irish artist, who displayed a predilection for rural landscapes form an early age, as documented in his early sketchbooks of the landscapes in and around co. Carlow.
Source: Stratton Ryan, Mary. Irish Arts Review, 'Frank O'Meara's Muse', 2011, pp. 92-97. vol. 28, no.1
Kenndy, B.P. 'Irish Painting'. Town House and Country House. Dublin, 1993.
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane has five paintings by the artist in its collection, which form the nucleus of O'Meara's small oeuvre.
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