Some Greeks Some Romans – The River Gods of Ireland.
Ana Livia Plurabelle.
Medium: Watercolour on PaperSize: 36 x 25 cms, 14 x 10 ins
Price: € 450.00; each. Discount available for the full set.
Some Greeks, Some Romans
The River Gods of Ireland, or Heads of the Rivers, were commissioned by the famous Architect, James Gandon (1743-1823). Gandon was a prominent pupil of the great Sir William Chambers, England’s most reputable and distinguished architect of the period, under whom he learned and developed a Franco-Roman Neo-Classical style.
Lord Carlow and Sir William Berisford, who became his patron, invited Gandon to Ireland.
Gandon’s first major work was the magnificent Custom House in Dublin (1781-1791). Gandon commissioned a virtually unknown stone mason, Edward Smyth, to depict the principal rivers of Ireland as part of the external design to the Custom House. This type of design was once a common architectural motif and generally incorporated those elements closely associated with the flow of the river in the crowns of the stone heads. They were part of the make up of bridges, at the apex, which spanned the rivers.
This series for the Custom House was completed in 1786, after which Smyth was to become Gandon’s principal Sculptor. He worked on other prominent Gandon developments; including the Kings Inns, The Four Courts, Parliament House, O’Connell Bridge, The Rotunda Hospital and the great mansion at Emo, Co. Laois.
Gandon’s forte lay in his mastery of planning, understanding of details and deployment of materials.
The heads that Gandon commissioned inspires my watercolours for this Exhibition. They are rarely depicted in colour, as the originals are masonry grey.
Roger Cummiskey, Artist and writer. (www.RogerCummiskey.com)
The Rivers are: The Atlantic Ocean, The River Bann, The River Barrow, The River Blackwater, The River Boyne, Lough Erne, The River Foyle, The River Lagan, The River Lee, The River Liffey, The River Nore, The River Shannon, The River Slaney and the River Suir.
ARTROGER
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Rivers are our heritage, Rivers are our Future.
Rivers have seen many Millenniums in and will see many out.
Unique series. Great value!
All Original, one only, watercolour paintings, not prints, or limited editions.
Gargoyles – are they Gargoyles?
A chimera, or a grotesque figure, is a sculpture that does not work as a waterspout and serves only an ornamental or artistic function. These are also usually called gargoyles in layman’s terminology, although the field of architecture usually preserves the distinction between gargoyles (functional waterspouts) and non-waterspout grotesques.
Gargoyles are said to scare off and protect from any evil or harmful spirits.
