Beschreibung:

Artist: Evie Hone HRHA (1894-1955) Title: The Crucifixion (from stone carving at St. Multose Church in Kinsale) Signature: signed lower right Medium: gouache on card Size: 61 x 76.20cm (24 x 30in) Framed Size: 82.7 x 97.2cm (32.6 x 38.3in) Provenance: Dawson Gallery, Dublin (label verso); Peppercanister Gallery, Dublin (label verso); Private Collection a#morebtn { color: #de1d01; } a#morebtn:hover { cursor: pointer;} A major figure in 20th Century Irish art, Evie Hone was born into a prosperous Dublin family. However, she had the misfortune to contract polio as a child, and the illness left her physically impaired for the remainder of her life. She was, nonetheless, determined to become an artist and her parents... Read more A major figure in 20th Century Irish art, Evie Hone was born into a prosperous Dublin family. However, she had the misfortune to contract polio as a child, and the illness left her physically impaired for the remainder of her life. She was, nonetheless, determined to become an artist and her parents encouraged her in this, sending her to study at the Westminster School of Art in London and then the Central School of Art. In the years between the wars, Paris was unequivocally the centre of the European art world and, like students of many different nationalities, Hone was drawn to France. In her case she was strongly prompted by one of her tutors, Bernard Meninsky With Mainie Jellett she studied first with André Lhote one of many artists influenced by Cubism though not in the more radical form developed by Picasso and Braque. Not entirely happy with Lhote, they later moved on to Albert Gleizes He too had devised his own, quite rigorous, Cubist-influenced approach to composition. While Jellett applied his method quite directly and effectively to her own work, Hone retained a greater level of individual freedom of expression. She was much more comfortable with representation than abstraction: even so, conservative taste in Ireland found her painting to be challenging. She was in her late 30s when she turned to stained glass and took to it naturally. It suited her strong sense of design, her liking for clearly outline forms and her colour sense. Her empathy for stained glass is clearly evident in this bold, symmetrical crucifixion scene based on a stone carving at Multose Church of Ireland Church, Kinsale. Although the church as it is now is greatly amended and altered, Multose dates from 1190 and is the oldest building in Kinsale. It has also been in continuous use since it was built. Hone's faith was extremely important to her, yet it is worth noting that this crucifixion is an exceptionally lively work in terms of composition and handling and not at all grim or mournful in mood. Aidan Dunne, March 2020