Louis Le Brocquy HRHA (b.1916) Fruit in the Hand Oil on paper, 22.25 x 24cm, (8.75 x 9.5'') Signed and dated 74 Provenance: The Dawson Gallery, Dublin Fruit in the Hand was painted in 1974...

Louis Le Brocquy HRHA (b.1916) Fruit in the Hand Oil on paper, 22.25 x 24cm, (8.75 x 9.5'') Signed and dated 74 Provenance: The Dawson Gallery, Dublin Fruit in the Hand was painted in 1974 during a period that Le Brocquy spent focused on still life. The intimate oil on paper work is one of three listed as an example of this 'notable body of work' of the 1970s on the artist's website. The piece departs from traditional still life in numerous ways. The non-naturalistic primary colours Le Brocquy employs here add to the strong abstract quality of the work, and the fruit is not immediately recognisable. Le Brocquy's use of his palm and finger prints to represent the hand, rather than rendering it with a brush, add a personal touch to the painting in a literal manner. The unique index of this great artist's left hand is set here permanently in paint, the art medium that he has contributed so much to. Here this hand is presented in landscape format and appears to offer or show the fruit to its beholder. Le Brocquy's choice of format is significant here, as a vertical composition would hold associations of a different kind. Instead he presents an image that is balanced and harmonious in both composition and in tone.

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