In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade

from the sources

• The painting is an oil on canvas work by Walter Osborne, completed around 1895, and held in the National Gallery of Ireland. en.wikipedia.org

  “In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade is an oil on canvas painting by the Irish artist Walter Osborne, completed c. 1895, and housed in the National Gallery of Ireland.”

• The painting was first shown at the Royal Academy in 1895. en.wikipedia.org

  “It was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1895, and was one of Osborne's early commercially successful paintings, and established him as one of Ireland's most important 19th century painters.”

• The scene is set on an autumn evening in Phoenix Park, Dublin, and shows five figures seated on a bench. en.wikipedia.org

  “In a Dublin Park, Light and Shade is set on an autumn evening in the Phoenix Park, in Dublin, and shows five figures sitting on a bench.”

• The central figure is a young woman holding an infant, lit by light falling from the left, who looks at the viewer and appears exhausted and ill. en.wikipedia.org

  “The central character, brilliantly lit by the light falling from the left, is a young woman holding an infant on her knee, who looks out wearily at the viewer, and appears exhausted and ill.”

• The work is noted for its depiction of Dublin's poor and its treatment of light and shadow, showing the artist's learning from the French Impressionists. en.wikipedia.org

  “The work is renowned for both its harrowing depiction of Dublin's poor at the turn of the 20th century, and its detailing of the effects of light and shadow, and evidences the artist's learning from the French Impressionists.”

• Critic Brian Fallon cited Osborne's humanity and sympathy in his pictures of the poor. en.wikipedia.org

  “The art critic Brian Fallon wrote that "Osborne's humanity and powers of sympathy are plain in his pictures of the poor".”