Adam's IRISH OLD MASTERS 5th November 2024

38 The river Lee has for centuries attracted fishermen to its shores. From its source in the rugged countryside above Gouganbarra it flows due east through beautiful contrasting scenery, varying from wild mountain to moorland before flowing on to the historic city of Cork. Salmon fishing is very common on the river with spring fish entering the waters in early February. In this work Grogan depicts four fishermen hauling in their drag nets full of catch from the river. He has placed the four figures to the extreme right-hand side of the composition with two stand - ing to their knees in the shallow water. While two more are located on the banks, pulling strongly on the end of the net. The powerful diagonal line of the figures’ movement draws the eye in and across the landscape. The dramatic set piece is arranged within an impressive landscape, with a sheer rock face to one side and contrasted with a majestic, gnarled tree growing out from the cliff, its branches heavy with green and golden foliage. In the middle distance the faint outline of Glanmire Church is visi - ble, located on a hill overlooking the village. There was a tendency in the eighteenth-century Irish landscape painting for artists to depict imagined rural idylls. Grogan, though not completely exempt from this tradition, did on occasion present a different view. In this watercolour he is focused on the industry along the river and depicting the ordinary people engaged in it. Grogan also produced and published a series of twelve aquatints depicting scenes along the river Lee. Each of the views in that series depicts some form of physical labour, from fishing, to quarrying to thatching roofs. Notable buildings included castles at Blarney, Blackrock and Monk - stown, while downriver he presented many views of the landscape around Glanmire Village. It is possible that this watercolour was intended as the basis of aquatint. His characteristically lively watercolours and aquatints, have keen sense of observed detail, of events that Grogan had witnessed, enabling him to create a distinct sense of time and place within the works. AFTER NATHANIEL GROGAN (1748 - 1807) Views of the River Lee and Cork Harbour from the set of twelve (1796)