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Joseph Malachy Kavanagh was a free student at the the Metropolitan School
of Art, 1877-78 and was a close friend of Water
Osborne at the time. Kavanagh was 29 years old when he, Osborne
and Hill went to Antwerp in September 1881,
studying in the "Natur" class under Verlat, as well as
sharing lodgings together. The three artists returned to Antwerp for the
winter season 1882-83, returning to Verlat's Life class. During this time,
Kavanagh showed a number of rural and city scenes in and around Antwerp
and Bruges. Among Irish artists in Antwerp, Kavanagh was the one who became
most interested in etching, using this same medium in France, and exhibited
a number of etchings of Belgian and French landscapes and architectural
views during the next four years. It is believed that he accompanied Osborne
to Brittany late in 1882 or early 1883, and the two artists probably worked
together in Quimperle, Dinan, and Pont-Aven. Unlike other Irish artists
in France in the 1880's, he does not seem to have been interested in 'plen airism', and his work showed little trace
if Impressionism. The influence of Dutch artists, especially Mauve's sympathetic
scenes of rural life and domestic animals, was lasting
| Tending The Flock |
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The Cockle Pickers, c.1890 |
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The Salt Marsh, Portmarnock,
County Dublin |
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References:
- "The Irish Impressionists, Irish Artists
in France and Belgium 1850-1914". Julian Campbell. National Gallery
of Ireland. 1984
