The 3rd of May - Goya (11/100)
Artist
Robert Ballagh
(b. 1943)
Date1973
MediumScreenprint on paper
Dimensions48.8 x 63 cm
ClassificationsPrint
Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery.
Purchased, 1975.
Object number1392
DescriptionThis is a ten colour screenprint on paper of Ballagh's painting, 'The Third of May - After Goya', which is adapted from The Third of May 1808, 1814-15 (Prado, Madrid) a powerful work by the Spanish artist Francisco de Goya (1746-1828). King Ferdinard VII was restored to the Spanish throne in 1814 after the French occupation (1808-1814) and Goya painted for him his now famous scene of the bloody uprising of the citizens of Madrid against the occupying forces. Together with Ballagh's adaptations of works by David and Delacroix, the painting forms part of a series, which refers directly to events in Northern Ireland. In interview in 1979, the artist explained that he adapted these images into a poster style, by simplifying them and keeping the original composition. "…the lines that I drew were kept a constant thickness so that they would not have any personal expressive quality. In other words, the lines could never be gestural or in any way romantic."
Ballagh studied architecture before beginning to paint in earnest around 1967 when he assisted Micheal Farrell with an important mural commission for the National Bank, College Green. Ballagh's own work from that time embraces the abstract idiom. He later found that too restricting and changed to figurative imagery, which characterises his work to-date and he is best-known for his portraits and self-portraits. He is also a noted graphic designer, photographer and designer of stage sets.
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