SOLD
View of the Great South Wall and the Pigeon House, Dublin
Oil on wood, 27.5 x 39 cm.
Enclosed in its original Sadler frame
Throughout his career, Sadler’s depictions of Dublin and its surrounds were met with much enthusiasm, affording the artist the opportunity to reproduce commerically successful views for numerous collectors. However, unlike many artists who may have painted a near exact duplicate of a previous work, Sadler routinely reproduced views with obviously altered elements. Compared with other versions of The Great South Wall, this work offers a unique array of staffage, an inscribed coach (‘survivors’), adjustments to buildings and perspective, and varied activity at sea. For other versions of this view, see Gorry Gallery, An Exhibition of 18th - 21st Century Irish Paintings & Sculpture, 8th - 29th June 2023, no. 8, and the National Gallery of Ireland, NGI.2014.6.
The Great South Wall extends from the tip of Poolbeg peninsula more than four kilometres out into Dublin Bay. The project was undertaken due to Dublin Bay’s long-running issue with silting. The wall would increase the depth of the channel of the River Liffey and provide safe shelter for boats and ships. Beginning in 1707, the project took over a century to complete, with major construction beginning in 1717. While the Pigeon House sheltered travellers for decades, plans for the Pigeon House Harbour began in earnest in 1791, with the Pigeon House Hotel opening in 1793. The Pigeon House Fort was created following the outbreak of the 1798 Rebellion, leading to a military-occupied harbour.
To the right of this picture, over each shoulder of the coachman, a battery of cannon peers out of a wall, trained on the roadway and, unnervingly, toward the viewer. To the distant left is Poolbeg Lighthouse, positioned at the end of the Great South Wall, first lit by candlepower in 1767. This picture presents a white, squat-shaped lighthouse, dating the picture to before 1820 when the lighthouse was redesigned and rebuilt into its present form. For more, see Brendan Rooney’s Sadler’s Wall, The Wild Apple Press, 2004.
SOLD
View of the Great South Wall and the Pigeon House, Dublin
Oil on wood, 27.5 x 39 cm.
Enclosed in its original Sadler frame
Throughout his career, Sadler’s depictions of Dublin and its surrounds were met with much enthusiasm, affording the artist the opportunity to reproduce commerically successful views for numerous collectors. However, unlike many artists who may have painted a near exact duplicate of a previous work, Sadler routinely reproduced views with obviously altered elements. Compared with other versions of The Great South Wall, this work offers a unique array of staffage, an inscribed coach (‘survivors’), adjustments to buildings and perspective, and varied activity at sea. For other versions of this view, see Gorry Gallery, An Exhibition of 18th - 21st Century Irish Paintings & Sculpture, 8th - 29th June 2023, no. 8, and the National Gallery of Ireland, NGI.2014.6.
The Great South Wall extends from the tip of Poolbeg peninsula more than four kilometres out into Dublin Bay. The project was undertaken due to Dublin Bay’s long-running issue with silting. The wall would increase the depth of the channel of the River Liffey and provide safe shelter for boats and ships. Beginning in 1707, the project took over a century to complete, with major construction beginning in 1717. While the Pigeon House sheltered travellers for decades, plans for the Pigeon House Harbour began in earnest in 1791, with the Pigeon House Hotel opening in 1793. The Pigeon House Fort was created following the outbreak of the 1798 Rebellion, leading to a military-occupied harbour.
To the right of this picture, over each shoulder of the coachman, a battery of cannon peers out of a wall, trained on the roadway and, unnervingly, toward the viewer. To the distant left is Poolbeg Lighthouse, positioned at the end of the Great South Wall, first lit by candlepower in 1767. This picture presents a white, squat-shaped lighthouse, dating the picture to before 1820 when the lighthouse was redesigned and rebuilt into its present form. For more, see Brendan Rooney’s Sadler’s Wall, The Wild Apple Press, 2004.
