Some Greeks, Some Romans

The River Gods of Ireland, or Heads of the Rivers, were commissioned by the famous Architect, James Gandon (1743-1823). Gandon was a prominent pupil of the great Sir William Chambers, England’s most reputable and distinguished architect of the period, under whom he learned and developed a Franco-Roman Neo-Classical style.

Lord Carlow and Sir William Berisford, who became his patron, invited Gandon to Ireland.

Gandon’s first major work was the magnificent Custom House in Dublin (1781-1791). Gandon commissioned a virtually unknown stone mason, Edward Smyth, to depict the principal rivers of Ireland as part of the external design to the Custom House. This type of design was once a common architectural motif and generally incorporated those elements closely associated with the flow of the river in the crowns of the stone heads. They were part of the make up of bridges, at the apex, which spanned the rivers.

This series for the Custom House was completed in 1786, after which Smyth was to become Gandon’s principal Sculptor. He worked on other prominent Gandon developments; including the Kings Inns, The Four Courts, Parliament House, O’Connell Bridge, The Rotunda Hospital and the great mansion at Emo, Co. Laois.

Gandon’s forte lay in his mastery of planning, understanding of details and deployment of materials.

The heads that Gandon commissioned inspires my watercolours for this Exhibition. They are rarely depicted in colour, as the originals are masonry grey.

Roger Cummiskey, Artist and writer. (www.RogerCummiskey.com)

The Rivers are: The Atlantic Ocean, The River Bann, The River Barrow, The River Blackwater, The River Boyne, Lough Erne, The River Foyle, The River Lagan, The River Lee, The River Liffey, The River Nore, The River Shannon, The River Slaney and the River Suir.

The medium is watercolour and watercolour and ink on paper.

Roger Cummiskey, Artist Phone +34666 782642
ArtRoger@gmail.com Mobile: +353 87 222 5241
www.RogerCummiskey.com

Image above

The River Liffey "Anna Livia Plurabelle".

This painting is based on the main character in Joyce’s classic “Finnegans Wake”. The character is interchangeable between a heroine and a river (The Liffey) which enters the sea as it flows through Dublin. It is therefore both.

The image is from one of a series of river gods commissioned by the famous architect James Gandon (1743-1823) from Edward Smyth, a virtually unknown sculptor who worked on them from 1780 to their completion in 1786, for the Custom House in Dublin. The “heads of the river” were 14 in number and were called after 14 different rivers in Ireland. ©RogerCummiskey.com  ¶ 6:25 AM