Turner Lights Up New Year At Dublin Gallery

The exhibition, 'A Light in the Darkness' , will be complemented by a display of 17th, 18th and 19th century silhouettes and miniatures from the Mary A. McNeill bequest, including works by John Comerford, Richard Crosse, Henry Bone and Nathaniel Hone the Elder.

The 31 Vaughan bequest of Turner watercolours and drawings included in the display span the career of one of Britain's most accomplished watercolourists. Among them are a number of works painted during the artist's many trips to Europe in his later years, capturing stunning locations like the Doge's Palace in Venice, Lake Lucerne, and the fortresses at Bellinzona in Switzerland. Some of his most striking works in watercolour were produced during the 1840's, and show how the artist magically captured the effects of light.

The exhibition is curated by Anne Hodge, Curator of Prints and Drawings. She says: "The Gallery's annual Turner exhibition never fails to draw in the crowds. This January, visitors will have the added attraction of an exciting display of silhouettes and miniature portraits - a beautiful collection bequeathed to the Gallery in 1985 by Belfast-born Mary A. McNeill, who was a notable collector and historian. These delicate likenesses, painted in watercolour on ivory or enamel on copper, were popular in Turner's day and were prized as keepsakes and sometimes worn as jewellery."

Dating from the late 17th to early 19th centuries, miniatures were a precursor to photography; people would keep a tiny likeness of a loved one in a locket or pocket-sized frame. Many miniaturists came from a goldsmithing or other craft background. Henry Bone (1755-1843), whose enamel-on-copper miniature of then Lord High Treasurer of Ireland William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire (1748-1811) will be included in the exhibition, started his career in a factory, decorating china.

In the late 17th century, it became the fashion for gentleman to paint miniatures -for example, the poet, lawyer and academic Thomas Flatman (1635-1688), whose Captain Robert Bransby RN was painted in watercolour on vellum. In the 18th century, formally trained artists such as John Smart (1741/43-1811) and Richard Crosse (1742-1810) brought a new standard of education and quality to miniature painting. One such example is Crosse's portrait of Mrs John Harrison (d.1803), painted in watercolour on ivory. When photography came into vogue around 1850 it effectively brought about the demise of the miniature.

A series of free public talks on Turner and the McNeill bequest will take place during January, on Tuesdays at 10.30am and Sundays at 3.00pm. Admission is free. -- www.nationalgallery.ie