Lot 14: Walter Frederick Osborne RHA ROI (1859-1903) VIEW IN ANTWERP, 1881-1882

signed with initials lower right and 'F. W. Osborne' lower left

h:9 w:5.75in.

oil on board

’Walter Osborne’, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, November - December 1983, the exhibition later travelled to the Ulster Museum, Belfast, in January - February 1984, catalogue no. 4

Sheehy, Jeanne, Walter Osborne, Gifford and Craven, Ballycotton, Co. Cork, 1974, catalogue no. 29;
Sheehy, Jeanne, Walter Osborne, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1983, catalogue no. 4, p.51 (illustrated)

Collection of John F. Chambers;
'John Chambers Collection of Irish Paintings', Christie's, 9 December 1992, lot 499;
Private collection

After his first periods of study in Dublin Walter Osborne continued his studies at the Academie Royale, Antwerp, registering in the 'Natuur' (Life) class of Charles Verlat, in September 1881 and remaining there until 1883. Although he did not study in the Landscape class which was reserved mainly for Belgium and Dutch students, much of Osborne's Flemish oeuvre consisted of open air scenes of street scenes, with buildings and churches, around Antwerp, and landscapes. View in Antwerp is a quintessential early Antwerp painting by Osborne. Although painted on a small panel and lacking figures, it has topographical accuracy and sharpness of observation, a Flemish clarity of light, yet also a warmth of texture and atmosphere.

When in Antwerp Osborne painted a number of scenes of little courtyards, old houses and churches, often including figures, and the fall of sunlight on the red titled roofs and old brick walls, in the old city. In View of Antwerp he represents the slate roof of the church, the terracotta titled roofs of the tall houses, a small bridge and canal, and boats with tall masts. Jeanne Sheehy identifies the church as that of St. Charles Borremeo, originally the Jesuit Church of St. Ignatius, (1) built in 1621 in a small attractive piazza. It was a Baroque church, with fine façade and interior, with barrel-vaulted ceiling and thirty-nine paintings by Rubens. Much of the interior was destroyed by fire in 1718, but the ornate chapel of St. Maria is still preserved. (2)
The church is situated, not far from Kloosterstraat and Keizerstraat, where Osborne lodged.
Osborne observes the tall masts and the rigging of the boats, which seem to reach towards the sky, (providing a counterpoint to the church tower), the little crosses on the steep roof, and the reflections of buildings in the canal water. Although lacking in figures, human presence is suggested by articles of white washing on a line and smoke rising from a chimney. And there is a bird, perhaps a seagull, high in the sky.

Since the 17th century there had been a tradition among Dutch and Flemish artists painting careful scenes of streets, and buildings with gabled roofs and while Osborne was a student in Antwerp, some contemporary artists were representing streets in the old city in a realistic manner. Osborne's Antwerp paintings fall into this tradition, but perhaps in a more modern, direct way. In View in Antwerp he observes the scene in strong sunlight and shadow, delighting in the different shapes and interlocking shapes, the warm colours and textures, of the buildings. For example, he conveys the texture of the houses with impastoed brushstrokes, and some with rougher brushwork. His palette of terracotta, ochre, grey green, violet, brown, green and blue, is rich and harmonious.

View in Antwerp was included in the large Walter Osborne exhibit at the National Gallery of Ireland in 1983, curated by Jeanne Sheehy. It belonged for many years in the collection of John F. Chambers (1919-1992), a connoisseur and discerning collector of Irish painting. Born in Sligo, he worked with the Medical Research Council in Trinity College, Dublin, as a Bacteriologist in Beamount Hospital, and then as Managing Director in Lennox Laboratory Supplies Ltd. (3)He was generous in showing his collection of paintings in his flat in Upper Fitzwilliam Street. He is portrayed with geographer Frank Mitchell in the painting Conversation Piece, 1984, by Andrew T. Festing (NGI.4514). (4)

Dr Julian Campbell
August 2018

FOOTNOTES
1 Jeanne Sheehy, Walter Osborne, 1983, op. cit. p.51
2 Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg, 2018, p.187
3 Adrian le Harivel, National Gallery of Ireland. Acquisitions, 1986-1988, NGI 1988, p. 92-93
4 Illustrated in A. le Harivel, 1988, p. 93