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Francis Joseph O'Meara born on 30 March, 1853 in Carlow, Ireland, left
for Paris c. 1872-73 entering the atelier of Carolus-Duran. Among O'Meara's
fellow students were American John Singer Sargent. Until recently, O'Meara has
almost been forgotten, and one wonders if his achievement was exaggerated
by his friends, for he belongs very much to this fin-de-siecle
period, and artists from all over Europe were painting 'poetic landscapes'
neither fully naturalistic, nor truly Symbolist. Moreover, O'Meara was by
no means the first foreign artist to paint at Barbizon and Grez. However,
he was one of the first of a younger generation to settle in the country,
linking two generations of students; the group from Carolus-Duran's in the
1870's with those in the eighties, thus gaining a certain status among younger
artist. As an early exponent of plein-airism,
depicting figure in landscape and combining tonal value with decorative
effect, O'Meara was one of the forerunners of the 'Glasgow School' style.
| Towards Night and Winter,
1885 |
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Toward's Night, O'Meara's best-known painting, is a
fine example of contemporary plein airism as
practiced at Grez. The absorption of the girl in burning leaves on the river-bank
of the Loing and the 'twilight' atmosphere are characteristic of O'Meara.
There are the usual sedges by the little pool, an autumnal landscape and
gray light, and in the background are the houses and dark rooftops of Grez
reflected in the pool, which appear in pictures by Stott, Larsson and many
other artists. The restricted palette green, red, brown, gray and
silver and the pale tonality are typical of the artist. He applied
his paints thinly and did not use the square-brush technique favored by
other plein-air painters. |
References:
- "The Irish Impressionists, Irish Artists
in France and Belgium 1850-1914". Julian Campbell. National Gallery
of Ireland. 1984
- "Irish Painting". Brian P. Kennedy.
Town House, Dublin. 1993.
