Roderic O'Conor, 1860-1940

Executed circa 1910-11, the model’s pose, with knees raised and hands joined behind her head, was a favourite one that O’Conor returned to in a number of drawings and paintings dating from the first, second and third decades of the twentieth century. He clearly took pleasure in the interplay of angular and curved shapes that the pose afforded, with its alluring combination of openness and modesty.

The particular model seen here was painted on several occasions by O’Conor. With her slender forms and full head of hair, she was characteristically depicted in sumptuous settings that exploited richly coloured (especially red) drapes and generously proportioned armchairs and chaises longues. Here, unusually, she looks directly out of the picture at the viewer, drawing our gaze towards her in a fashion that runs counter to the standard intimiste approach of candid observation.

O’Conor cleverly deploys bright studio lighting to heighten the contrast between the luminous flesh tones and the saturated colours of the fabrics. No extraneous still life or furnishing props are allowed to detract from the intensity of focus the artist has brought to his subject on this occasion.

Jonathan Benington