Louis Le Brocquy
1916 – 2012
Louis Le Brocquy was born in 1916. He studied a Trinity College,Dublin before deciding in his twenties to become a painter. Le Brocquy taught himself by studying works from some of the worlds greatest collections.He had an interest cubism, Japanese 18th century genre pictures, Polynesian and Celtic archaeology and ritual.His work explores themes of human isolation. A work exploring this theme called The Family was awarded a major international prize at the 1956, Venice Biennale, this work is currently housed in the National Gallery of Ireland.His use of the single figure or in this case the head symbolises the isolated being within the landscape. This composition is ghostlike and presents us with an infinite depth due to the artists concentration of colour on the central figure which is surrounded by a multi tonal white.He is a member of Aosdana where he was awarded the position of Saoi, the highest honour to be placed on the members of the organisation. Le Brocquy is 94 and still paints.