Beschreibung:

THE MIRROR, 1912 Leo Whelan RHA (1892-1956)
Signature: signed and dated lower right Medium: oil on canvas Dimensions: 33 by 26in., 84 by 66cm. Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner's mother, a student at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art in the 1930s Exhibited: RHA, Dublin, 1913, exhibition no. 366 [price £15-15-0] This self-portrait, entitled The Mirror was shown at the RHA in Dublin in 1912 (no. 366) (£15-15-0). It shows the young smartly dressed Whelan, leg firmly planted on the easel, palette and brush in ha... and studying his reflection in a large mirror. The composition with the cascading curtain on the left and the use of the mirror device nods to his academic training at the Metropolitan, where, under Sir William Orpen he was considered 'a promising youth'. Holding the velvety fabric in place in the left foreground is a maquette depicting an Irish peasant group digging for potatoes (possibly referencing the Famine). A rare subject for sculptural treatment for this period; its inclusion suggests Whelan's interest in Irish rural social subjects, the influence of French social realists like Millet and their unromanticised, realist approach to depicting genre scenes. Whether this maquette references an actual sculpture is unclear. It is possible it was an experimental work made by the artist or a fellow student at the Metropolitan. Like his mentor, Whelan gravitated towards portraiture and was highly sought after from an early age. His first exhibit in the RHA in 1911 was a portrait, Dr O'Connell-Redmond J.P., F.R.C.S.I (no. 347) and during his years showing with the RHA (from 1911 to 1956, 1957 (the late) portraiture would make-up the bulk of his exhibits which totalled 260 works. Unlike Orpen, Whelan based himself in Dublin throughout his career. The RHA records only three Dublin addresses for the artist; one of which was his home address 65 Eccles Street where he lived with his mother (a "Hotel Proprietor"), siblings and two lodgers, a medical student and a draper. Whelan won the Taylor Scholarship in 1916 with The Doctor (now in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland) and accolades such as this raised the artist's profile and led to important commissions later in his career. Along with Seán Keating and Sean O'Sullivan Leo Whelan played a critical role in building a visual identity for the newly independent Ireland. Among his numerous portraits were Michael Collins (1922 and 1943) Count John McCormack (1930) The Hon. Ernest Guinness (1932) Sean Lemass (1945) Dr Douglas Hyde (1945, Collection of Áras an Uachtaráin) Eamon De Valera (1955). He was also tasked with painting the G.H.Q Staff of the Pre-Treaty I.R.A., 1922 (unfinished) which portrayed all thirteen figures from life and he designed the first Free State commemorative postal stamp issued in 1929 for the Centenary of Catholic Emancipation. Thomas MacGreevy, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland from 1950 to 1963 said that of all Orpen's pupils "Mr Whelan is perhaps nearest to his master in sheer skill." We are grateful to Dr. Emily Mark-Fitzgerald, UCD for her assistance with this lot. more