A Victorian fascination for art works that tell a story can be seen in paintings at the National Gallery of Ireland.
Alistair Rowan, Professor of Art History at University College Dublin is at the National Gallery of Ireland to examine three works by Irish artists all painted within the same period. The preparatory drawings by the artists show the extraordinary lengths they took to develop their themes. While the works were painted within a period of three years, they come from different artists with different perspectives at different stages of their lives.
The mid Victorian works in question are 'The Toy Seller' by William Mulready (1786-1863), 'The Sick Call' by Matthew Lawless (1837-1864) and 'Hellelil and Hildebrand: The Meeting on the Turret Stairs' by Frederick William Burton (1816-1900).
Though the paintings may be very similar in date, they may be produced by very different sorts of people and people, first of all, of a quite different age and experience.
'The Toy Seller' (1862) a paining by William Mulready tells a story that is not obvious. A black man waving a rattle at a baby held in its mother's arms, trying to encourage the woman to buy it for the child. Many of the artists of the mid to late 18th century made a living through illustration work for books and newspapers rather than from large paintings. Some of the illustrative detail is evident in William Mulready's work.
Matthew James Lawless is the youngest of the three artists. He was deaf and suffered from consumption. He died in London at the age of 27. His work 'The Sick Call' presents the complicated and moving story of a small grief stricken family accompanied by a priest and three altar boys on a boat. The painting is full of different layers of meaning.
The personal tragedy of this small Belgian family is set against an astonishingly beautiful summer evening.
The final painting 'The Meeting on the Turret Stairs' is a watercolour by Sir Frederick William Burton and is drawn from a Danish legend which had been published in London in 1858. It tells the story of a young woman Hellelil, the daughter of a King, who is protected by twelve knights. Hellelil falls in love with one of the knights by the name of Hildebrand.
For her love, it is decided that the young guard must die.
The painting shows them meeting on the turret stairs as Hildebrand is going to his death.
'Eye of the Artist' broadcast on 17 December 1986. The presenter is Alistair Rowan.
