William Sadler II (1782-1839)
A View of Dublin from Chapelizod
Oil on panel 38 x 51cm

William Sadler was born about 1782 and practiced in Dublin as a painter, producing mainly views of...

William Sadler II (1782-1839)
A View of Dublin from Chapelizod
Oil on panel 38 x 51cm

William Sadler was born about 1782 and practiced in Dublin as a painter, producing mainly views of neighbourhoods of the city and its environs. He was known to have produced many copies of the old masters and was fond of painting dramatic scenes, ones of conflagrations being quite numerous.

He was a regular contributor to exhibitions in the city between 1809 and 1821. He later exhibited at the newly formed Royal Hibernian Academy.

The present work, A View of Dublin from Chapelizod is seen from an elevated position near the Magazine Fort in the Phoenix Park and looks east past the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham and onwards to the city. The sweep of roadway in the foreground is busy with a coach and four, a group of soldiers and other traffic. The topography is quite busy and arguably, licensed, with many Dublin features evident, such as the windmill at St. Jamess Gate, various church spires and Gandons Four Courts. Sadler almost certainly would have been familiar with similar views by Tudor, Malton and Ashford, the latters view (NGI 4138) set a little further back and perhaps a little more panoramic as a result. While Ashfords painting displays his typical attention to detail, Sadler creates a mood yet still paying homage to Claudean, Neo-classical ideals. Both paintings feature prominently the Sarah Bridge with its elegant arches but Sadlers view incorporates, in more detail, buildings on the riverside at Islandbridge. The city too is presented as a semi-industrial one with chimney stacks billowing smoke into the hazy blue sky.

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