Daniel Maclise and Undine

'Scene from Undine' (detail) (1843) by Daniel Maclise; Royal Collection, Windsor

What a coincidence to find another Irish painter for today's post and how different from the one of yesterday's post! Daniel Maclise, born on 25 January 1806 and died on 25 April 1870, was an Irish illustrator and painter. When Sir Walter Scott visited Maclise's hometown Cork in 1825, he made a sketch of the writer that launched his career. He exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy in 1829 and dedicated himself gradually to paintings with subjects taken from history, tradition, and works of Shakespeare. He also illustrated the works of Charles Dickens with whom he formed a close friendship. The painting of today is based on a scene from the German novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, in which the water spirit Undine marries the knight Huldebrand in order to gain a soul. The scene depicted here occurs in chapter IX, where Huldebrand accompanies his bride Undine back home through the forest. They're being followed by the priest, Father Heilmann, who performed the wedding ceremony and is visible beneath the branch of the tree. Ahead is the dark and sinister water god, Kuhleborn, the uncle of Undine (not visible in this detailed scene). Click here for the full painting where you can also see the ornamental border that Maclise painted, containing the main elements of the story. I like this painting very much, also because of the story, but if I wouldn't have found this, I would have posted Madeline after Prayer.

'In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade' by Walter Frederick Osborne

'In a Dublin Park, light and shade' (c.1895) by Walter Frederick Osborne; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Walter Frederick Osborne, born on 17 June 1859 and died on 24 April 1903, was an Irish Impressionist painter. I thought it would be nice to use him for today's post since I haven't done a post on an Irish painter yet. With Impressionist painters, you immediately think of French painters, since the origin of the art movement lies in France. I like to become acquainted with Impressionist painters beyond France (see the Wikipedia page on the art movement and scroll down to 'Beyond France') and have already done posts on American Impressionists. Osborne was a landscape and portrait painter. In the early 1890s, his work began to show the influence of Impressionism. Brighter colours and an increased interest in shadow and sunlight. He portrayed women, children and elderly people. This painting shown here is one of the few paintings that sold instantly when it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1895. The Impressionist influence of shade and light is evident in this painting but it's not just the visual that Osborne was interested in. The treatment of the figures shows Osborne's empathy with the working class of Dublin. I think it's a beautiful painting. I love the use of shade and light, and my eyes keep being drawn towards the care-worn face of the woman on the bench. I think Osborne captured the look on her face perfectly. For further reading, click here.