Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915 - 1980) Marine Encounter (PH212) Oil on Canvas, 62.

Patrick Hennessy RHA (1915 - 1980) Marine Encounter (PH212) Oil on Canvas, 62.5 x 89cm (25 x 35") Signed Provenance: With Guildhall Galleries, Chicago, label verso; Private Collection, DublinHennessy’s work was very different to that of his Irish contemporaries, he favoured more traditional subject matter, landscapes, still lives and portraits. His finesse and skill as a painter were best exemplified in his depiction of animal life, with an incredible eye for detail and anatomical correctness.His works have a slightly surreal character, often set within isolated landscapes, each with their own internal narrative. In this work the odd encounter of the butterfly, song bird and conch shells, are arranged as a miniature tableau. Hennessy is influenced by the art historical genre of still life painting, mastered by Dutch Golden Age artists, in which animals and food were arranged in highly realistic and abundant displays.Ill health led to permanent move to Morocco in 1968, where he could benefit from a warmer climate. Some of his later works, depict the deserts of that landscape, such as Mare and Foal, sold in these rooms in 2019. The beach landscape in this work is suggestive of the North African coastline, with its distinctive cliff faces, one in the immediate background, stands as individual layers of rock stacked on top of each other, eroded by the seawater. While in the farther distance, an impressive promontory cuts through the picture plane and into the sea beyond.Niamh Corcoran, November 2023