Showing posts with label william orpen. Show all posts
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
















1898

















1903


















1904


















1906


















1907

















1909


















1909
















1910


















1910














1910

















1912

















1913

















1917

















1917

















1917

















1919, maybe


















1920

















1922

















1924


















1924














1924 ... remembering his much younger self ...




 ... to be continued, as and when ...