Thursday, April 11, 2013

Views of Dublin (1753-1859)

Since everyone seems to be digging the images of Dublin I've unearthed (to continue a pun) I've decided to post some more. This time it's different in that these images predate photography for the most part. Only one of the depictions of Dublin below was painted in the era of the photograph.
A view of College Green, Dublin (1807) by James Roberts. The NLI has a brighter version of this image.
Southside of the Liffey facing the Fourt Courts (1807) by Thomas Roberts. Note the ruined bridge. This image may be based upon an older painting.
View of the City of Dublin. The Bay, Mountains & The Royal Canal and Foster Aqueduct (1813) by JC Oben. This is the one that had me scratching my head a bit. You may know the area depicted as Constitution Hill. The famous Hendrons building would be somewhere just behind the cottages to the left. The Foster Aqueduct that brought the Royal Canal all the way to Broadstone was only removed sometime in the mid-20th Century.
College Green Dublin by Joseph Tudor (c.1753).Here's a bit of an oddity for modern eyes to feast upon.  This is the oldest image in this post. This seems to be a coloured more modern reproduction of Tudor's original. Can someone tell me this, is this an accurate depiction of the area at the time or is the grass a fanciful latterday affectation?
Donnybrook Fair (1859) by Erkine Nichol is the newest rendition of Dublin in the post and the only one that actually dates from the era of the photograph. Nichol, a Scottish painter, created many depictions of the Irish peasantry at the time. I may do a dedicated post on Nichol another time as he's an interesting artist.
 Dublin from Phoenix Park, I think, 1790. I can't find an artist for this one.
 Dublin Bay, from somewhere around Clontarf I imagine (1796) by John Laporte.
 A View In The Bay Of Dublin (1785) by Francis Wheatley.
Dublin Bay, from Stillorgan Road (1799) by Francis Jukes. Prominently displaying Howth and Ireland's Eye in the background to the left.

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