Portrait of a Lady as Hibernia - Fagan, Robert (English painter, archaeologist, and art dealer of Irish origin, 1761-1816, active in Italy) (Sotheby's, 1989)
Robert Fagan (1761-1816) Brought up in London and admitted to the Royal Academy in 1781. Established himself as a portraitist of fashionable grand tourists and a dealer in art and antiquities in Italy. (published note regarding subject - Sotheby's): Fagan was neither born nor educated in Ireland, but his father was of Irish descent and he always considered himself to be Irish. It is likely therefore that he would have met Irish visitors to Rome and was no doubt asked in this portrait to reflect the strong feelings of many Irish after the passing of the Act of Union in 1800. The portrait is full of Irish symbolism - the broken harp strings, the shamrock decorations on the girl's dress, the Irish wolfhound, the distant mountain peaks and even the Gaelic Erin go Bragh (Ireland forever) on the scroll. The style of the portrait is however entirely Continental, influenced by Italian artists such as Appiani.
Keywords: Hibernia; Painting, Irish; Allegory; Personification in art; Painting, Irish; Hounds; Harp; Harp strings; Scrolls; Shamrock (Emblem); Neoclassical