Roderic O'Conor

Purchased by the present owner circa 1987

Jonathan Benington, Roderic O'Conor, A Biography with Catalogue of his Work, Dublin, 1992, no.132

Board appears to be sound. There is an oil sketch of a reclining nude verso. There is a very minor surface scratch below the green vase in the upper right corner, only visible on close inspection. Overall the work appears in very good condition, ready to hang. Under ultraviolet light there is possibly some retouching to the model's left cheek and shoulder. There also appears to be some small retouching's along the upper right edge, near the centre of the left edge, and possibly a couple of small areas below the model's fingers. Held in a gilt-moulded frame.
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Roderic O’Conor’s fascination with the female nude began in earnest after he left Brittany for good in 1904 and moved to Paris. The spacious studio he rented at 102 rue du Cherche-midi in Montparnasse became the setting for countless explorations of this time-honoured subject. The present example, with its sumptuous reds, pinks, oranges and yellows, recreates something of the effect of a boudoir, the model being captured as if she is just about to rise from her couch in order to get dressed. The sense of immediacy is reinforced by the cropping of the figure's feet and hair by the top and bottom edges of the picture, with the result that her position in space is very close to the plane of the picture.

The intimate setting and unselfconscious pose of this nude relate it closely to other interiors dating from O’Conor’s intimiste period, 1905-11. Inspiration for this body of work was provided by the late nudes of Renoir (compare for example the latter's Bather Sitting on a Rock (Baigneuse) of 1892; private collection, Paris), as well as Pierre Bonnard’s radiant and seemingly unposed depictions of his wife. O’Conor sought, like Bonnard, to create unpretentious pictures of women in intimate settings, engaged in everyday activities such as reading, resting, arranging their hair or fastening a stocking. An early example of 1905 entitled Repos, showing a clothed model asleep, was bought from O’Conor by the famous Russian collector of modern European art, Ivan Morosov, and is now in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

The features of the young woman seen here can be found in a number of O'Conor's  paintings from this period. He would normally start work by making rapid drawings of the model in a range of different poses - an approach that allowed him to establish an understanding of her movements and proportions. In Nude seated on a chaise longue the model has been placed left of centre, seated on the edge of a divan (a favourite studio prop), with three Chinese vases located in the background to lend an air of cultured refinement. The model’s expression, as so often in O'Conor's work, is contemplative and introspective, rather than overtly glamorous or sensual. The figure is lit by daylight entering the picture from the right, throwing the left side of her figure into shadow and thereby enhancing the illusion of rounded, three-dimensional  forms. By paying careful attention to the overall balance of light and shade, O’Conor demonstrates his awareness of traditional themes and approaches, simultaneously updating them through his highly expressive use of colour. The luscious crimson red he has used so extensively in this painting was one of his favourite colours, inevitably calling Renoir to mind once again.

Whereas the seated nude on the front of this picture is a highly considered statement that must have demanded frequent sittings of the model over a prolonged period, the reclining nude on the reverse is a spontaneous and vibrant sketch, painted in one sitting. The two contrasting treatments show the extent to which O’Conor was prepared to adapt his approach, working rapidly alla prima in order to seize a pose or light effect before it was lost for ever, while at the same time producing pictures with a much higher degree of ‘finish’, perhaps with an exhibition in mind. Even in more developed works, however, the artist still liked to retain a degree of spontaneity: compare for example the bold patch of creamy paint on the seated nude’s left shoulder, with the incredibly delicate, feathered brushstrokes used in her right cheek and neck.

We are grateful to Jonathan Benington for kindly preparing this catalogue entry.