CAG.2829 Nathaniel Grogan, Self-Portrait of the Artist, undated, oil on panel, 21 x 16.5 cm. Purchased, 2013.

WORK OF THE WEEK!

Self-Portrait of the Artist is a small oil-on-panel painting by Nathaniel Grogan.

Dressed in a red tunic and round blocked hat, the seated artist presents his own likeness as he leans into candlelight. He rests a maulstick (a practical painting aid) over his left shoulder. His choice of lowkey lighting and dark background serve as a reminder of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) and Joseph Wright of Derby (1734-1797).

The portrait is signed on the reverse (verso) of the wood panel: ‘Grogan Pinxt.’ (i.e. Grogan painted this). An indecipherable date may also be present.

Son of a blockmaker and woodturner, Nathaniel Grogan the Elder (1740-1807) grew up in Cork, where he received instruction from John Butts (1728-1764). Although he enlisted in the British Army and served in the West Indies and North America, in December 1777 he advertised his ‘sign and ornamental painting’ services in the Pennsylvania Ledger.

Following his return to Cork, Grogan focused on his artistic practice and was much influenced by the Dutch tradition of genre and subject painting. His landscapes and scenes of everyday life could often be filled with boisterous energy and bawdy humour. In 1782, he exhibited with the Free Society of Artists in London. He also worked in etching and mezzotint, producing a series of twelve views of Cork.

His best-known works in public collections include Boats on the River Lee below Tivoli, Cork (c.1785), at the National Gallery of Ireland, and our own Whipping the Herring out of Town – A Scene of Cork (c.1800).

Self-Portrait of the Artist by Nathaniel Grogan is displayed in our Penrose Room (Floor 1) alongside his Banditti (c.1796) and Whipping the Herring out of Town – A Scene of Cork.

The Arts House: Conor Tallon chats with curator Michael Waldron about a work from the Collection every Sunday morning on Cork’s 96FM and C103 Cork. 

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter