PP9 Roderick O Connor.pdf - PDST

The farm at Lezaven had served as an artists' studio for some years before 1894 when O'Connorpainted it. Strident and very expressive strokes of the brush, combined with vibrant contrastingcolours, reveal the influence of van Gogh. The colour combinations of reds and greens, pinks,violets and maroons, are increasingly characteristic of O'Connor's paintings. The brushstrokes aresmaller and thinner. . Here O'Connor captures the wealth, rather than the burning intensity ofsummer. Through the trees we glimpse the sunlit farmhouse and glowing sky. But there is also asense of pattern, in the uprights of trees and the horizontal layers of flowers and fields, areas oflight and shadow, and in the overall surface texture of brushstrokes. These changes may havecome about through O'Connor's contact with Gauguin who had a studio at Lezaven at the time.http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/arch/769/irish/OConor.htmlIrish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)

The farm at LezavenIrish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)

The interior of O'Connor's studio in Paris was full of still-life objects. On one occasion hepainted, in a riot of colour, a girl fascinated by a book, totally ignoring her surroundings.This could hardly be described as a portrait; O'Connor's technique is loose and is notinterested in details. http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/arch/769/irish/OConor.htmlIrish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)

Irish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)After his last trip to Brittany in 1904,O‘ Conor remained in Paris for thefollowing eight years. A briefreconnaissance trip to the Bay ofCassis is recorded late in 1912 andthis experience had an immediateeffect upon his work. Almost inanticipation of the glowing hueswhich he would encounter on hissecond, longer, visit in the summerof 1913, O'Connor's studio-piecestook on an intensity of colour and aweight of impasto which conveys thefull richness of his mature work.Leftover notes of extra colour,reflections of green in the flesh tintsand the dappled green and mauvebackdrop serve to remind us thatthis is the work of one of the originalPost-Impressionists but with apersonal touch.http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/arch/769/irish/OConor.html

Roderic O'Conor (1860-1940)Oil on canvas, 53.3 x 73.7 cmWhen O’ Connor left Brittany andmoved back to Paris, his subject matteralso changed. He turned fromlandscapes to interiors and nudes, stilllifes and flower pieces. The form of thegirl, viewed from behind, is a harmonyof soft reds, pinks and violets, is gentlymodeled under dim studio light and isreflected in a mirror (perhaps a tributeto the Spanish painter Velasquez's"Venus at her Mirror”http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/arch/769/irish/OConor.htmlIrish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)

Boulevard Raspail, 1907An "Expressionist' night scene, painted in 1907 after O'Connor returned to live in Paris.Montparnasse was one of the artists' quarters in Paris and it was here that O'Connor had hisstudio, not far from the Boulevard Raspail. Cityscapes and night scenes are unusual in his workand have a dark, uneasy note not present in his landscapes.http://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/arch/769/irish/OConor.htmlIrish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)

PDST Professional Development Service for TeachersIrish Art History Section: Courtesy of theProfessional Development Service for Teachers(P.D.S.T.)Cultural & Environmental EducationNational Co-ordinatorConor HarrisonE-mail: conorharrison@pdst.ieThe PDST is funded by theDepartment of Education and Skillsunder the National Development Plan2007 - 2013Special thanks to Tony Morrissey for researching and compiling theinformation, images and video for this Power Point :Irish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)

References / External Links:The following websites were accessed in the making of this Power Point:http://www.mpfa.ie/oconorbio.htmhttp://www.visual-arts-cork.com/irish-artists/roderic-oconor.htmhttp://www.roscommonhistory.ie/Misc/Arts/Art/RodOConor/oconor.htmhttp://www.fortunecity.com/westwood/arch/769/irish/OConor.htmlhttp://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?cgroupid=999999961&artistid=2191&page=1&sole=y&collab=y&attr=y&sort=default&tabview=bioIrish Art History Section: Courtesy of the Professional Development Service for Teachers (P.D.S.T.)