Louis le Brocquy's inquiry
into the human condition is seminal to his motivation as a painter. This
underlying concern has informed a number of significant developments. According
to Francis Bacon: 'Le Brocquy belongs to a category of artists who have
always existed - obsessed by figuration outside and on the other side of
illustration - who are aware of the vast and potent possibilities of inventing
ways by which fact and appearance can be reconjugated'. The Early Works (1939-45) including Southern Window (1939; Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane) and A Picnic (1940; Irish
Museum of Modern Art), establish the artist's ongoing preoccupation
with the inward isolation of the individual. The Traveller paintings (1946-50) including Tinkers Resting (1946; Tate Collection), develop concerns relating to their marginal lives. Later paintings
of the period, including Travelling Woman with Newspaper (1947-48;
Smurfit Art Collection), indicate a wider social concern. The Grey Period, (1951-56) including A Family (1951; National Gallery of Ireland), and Child in a Yard (1954; Collection
Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin), contemplate a stark
circumstance in the aftermath of World War II. Le Brocquy's painting undergo
a further development in 1956 with the White Period, (1956-66) including Woman (1959; Tate Collection) and Isolated Being (1962; Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane), that radicalise the
human figure as isolated presences, and the ensuing Head Series, (1964-1996) including Head of an Irish Martyr (1967; Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington
D.C.) and Stele: Hommage à Entremont (1968; Fondation
Maeght, St Paul, France) that kindle his interest in the Celtic head culture. Initially anonymous these images later
depict literary figures such as W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, Samuel Beckett,
Seamus Heaney and Federico Garcia Lorca, including Study Towards an
Image of Shakespeare (1982; Guggenheim Museum, New York)
and Image Ulterieure de Picasso (1983; Picasso Museum,
Antibes), individuals whom the artist perceives as avatars of human consciousness. In
recent years le Brocquy has undertaken a major series of works entitled Processions in an impressive series of oil paintings, watercolours
and lithographs (1984-92) including Children in a Wood I (1988; Irish Museum of Modern Art). Since 1996, he has embarked upon Human Images, further developing his earlier preoccupation
with the Presence series. In 2005, the artist has painted a mouving
series entitled 'Homages to his Masters', including, Velazquez, Goya, Cézanne
and his hero Manet encountered for the fist tine some seventy years ago.
|
11 / HOMAGE SERIES---------------- (2005-2006)
4 / 'WHITE
PERIOD' PRESENCES (c.1956-1966)
7 / LIFE & STILL LIFE SERIES 
2 / 'TINKER' PERIOD
5 / ANCESTRAL
HEADS SERIES
8 / THE PROCESSION
SERIES
3 / 'GREY PERIOD'
6 / PORTRAIT
HEADS SERIES
9 / IRISH LANDSCAPE
SERIES