Louis Le Brocquy H.R.H.A. (b. 1916) Fantail Pigeon (630) 1994 Oil on canvas, 38 x 46 cm. (15 x 18 in.) Signed and dated '94' and inscribed with the artist's reference verso Provenance: with The...

Louis Le Brocquy H.R.H.A. (b. 1916) Fantail Pigeon (630) 1994 Oil on canvas, 38 x 46 cm. (15 x 18 in.) Signed and dated '94' and inscribed with the artist's reference verso Provenance: with The Taylor Galleries, Dublin Private Collection, Dublin Louis le Brocquy's artistic achievement spans a lifetime and his work has been and continues to be venerated by connoisseurs, collectors and critics alike. One of Ireland's finest living painters, his pictures are justifiably applauded on an international level and he remains one of the only Irish artists to have commanded seven figure sums on the open market. The artist has explored different themes throughout his career, tinkers, heads, processions and birds. The first dove painting appeared in 1954 and just two years later, whilst lodging at Casa Pezzoli, he found himself feeding flocks. His creativity was peaked by the sight and he made sketches later transformed into oils. But it was in France at Les Combes, his French home, that the concept for the present series was really born. Here, he became captivated by the sight and sound of the birds returning each evening to their dovecote. It was a vision that would stay with him and lead him to works such as the present example in the 1980s and 90s. Over the years, Le Brocquy has absorbed many influences from different periods of art history but retained a style that is singularly his own. In Fantail we witness this through a masterclass in the virtuoso handling of paint. A single bird is depicted, white but surrounded by a prismatic array of colour. The colour white has long been central to his aesthetic but here it is faceted and juxtaposed with a myriad of greens, blues and reds with a result that is both opaque and translucent. The urgent yet deliberate brushstrokes evoke the fluttering movement of the bird in a palpable way, breathing life into his subject. In a sense, the viewer is presented with a three-dimensional experience in two-dimensional form. A powerful composition is achieved through the suggestion of form, the ruffled feathers and beating wings, and enhanced by the rich luminosity of the surface. A similar work, Fantail Pigeons 1984, was sold in these rooms in December 2006 (as Lot 59), fetching ?280,000. One of the most immediate and painterly of the series to be offered at auction to date, Fantail Pigeon (630) marks a rare opportunity to acquire a tour de force of le Brocquy's oeuvre.

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