The Art of Sir William Orpen
The dazzling Irish painter created portraits
with an amazing force of precision.
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of my favorite artists has always been the great Irish painter Sir
William Orpen (1878 - 1931). His masterful portraits are extraordinarily
vivid, the combined product of superb draftsmanship, rich color,
and an unerring control of tonal values. He was first and foremost
a painter — the strong, decisive brushstrokes are placed with
athletic vigor and uncanny accuracy. There never seems to be an
ounce of hesitancy or indecision — every stroke registers like
a clear, precise note of music. I offer four examples for you to
study:
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4. The Most Reverend Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop
of Canterbury
In the portrait of the Archbishop of Canterbury (we
could not find a color reproduction of this very striking
portrait) the artist again selects a most difficult
and demanding light and shade pattern. Notice that,
again, there are two sources of light on the head. The
very subtle shadow tones occur down the centre axis
of the face. If you don't think this is difficult to
paint, try it! The treatment of the fabrics is noteworthy.
Oil on canvas
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