the new emotional blackmailer's handbook: william orpen

Showing posts with label william orpen. Show all posts

Friday, March 29, 2024

william orpen ... prolific self-portraitist

i never knew his name until, in my late twenties, i was awe-struck by a large allegorical painting in the national gallery in dublin ... only in the age of internet imaging searches did i begin to understand his complex character and dry humour ... i've never thought to assemble his self-portraits until now ... it might take some time to place them all in order ... many are hastily drawn to be included in letters to his friends ... i get the impression that he enjoyed seeing himself through others' eyes ... etc ... as a war artist he saw terrible things ... he was scrupulously honest in depicting the horrors he encountered ... these experiences were surely traumatic ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Orpen