Philoctetes on the Island of Lemnos
File Type:
JPEG imageItem Type:
ImageDate:
1983Citation:
William L. Pressly, 'James Barry: Artist as Hero', London: The Tate Gallery, 1983, p 126, no 70Download Item:
cgjc0783.jpg (JPEG image) 466.9KbPublisher:
The Tate GalleryDescription:
'The emotional impact is stronger in the print than in the painting it reproduces (cgjc0765). Barry accomplishes this, in part, by bringing the figure forward so that there is less space at top and bottom. In this print, Barry not only removed most of the aquatint, transforming the work into an image created almost entirely through line, but he also introduced a gnarled tree to the right of Philoctetes, striking a still wilder note under the influence of the works of Salvator Rosa. Phallic imagery, presumably on an unconscious level, is often encountered in Barry's art, and here one of the tree limbs and the arrow penetrating the dove unmistakably fall into this category, as if these images of potency were needed to counteract the crippling effects of Philoctetes' wound.' (Pressly, 125-6)Role:
artistCulture:
IrishDimensions/Extent:
45.4 cm x 36.9 cmWork:
prints (visual works)Role:
artistPublisher:
The Tate GalleryType of material:
ImageAvailability:
Full text availablePeriod:
18th centuryLicences: