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“The Harp of Erin” by Thomas Buchanan Read (American) - Oil on canvas / 1867 - Cincinnati Art Museum (Ohio) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #ThomasBuchananRead #artwork #AmericanArtist #CincinnatiArtMuseum #ErinGoBragh #ÉirinnGoBrách #allegory #ArtText #IrishIndependence #womensart #politicalart
In “The Harp of Erin,” the female figure is a personification that carries a political message. The young woman, wearing shamrocks in her hair and a green scarf, symbolizes Ireland. She is chained to a large rock that represents England. The title reinforces the artist’s meaning, as the harp is Ireland’s national symbol and Erin its ancient name. During the 19th century, widespread famine and England’s political oppression caused large-scale immigration of the Irish to the United States. By 1851, the Irish were the second largest immigrant community in Cincinnati (where this painting is on display), representing 12 percent of the population. (The German community represented 28 percent.) The plight of the Irish deeply concerned politically aware Americans. Both a poet and a painter, Thomas Buchanan Read was born in Pennsylvania and came to Cincinnati when he was 15. Although he spent much of his life elsewhere, he always considered the Queen City home and painted this work while in residence in the Ohio city. Read uses breathtaking hues of greens, blues, and tans to show a woman standing almost in the ocean on a piece of sea rock. The womans stern, yet passive expression leaves the viewer breathless as her beauty over takes the painting. The painting is organized with the woman leaning into the ocean just enough to get the tip of her toe wet from the salt water and crashing waves around her. The focus favors the right side of the painting, yet the balance of the background waves and dark hues helps the piece tie together. The scale of the painting allows us to focus on the almost giant figure in the foreground. With the scale used , we see only the woman and the rock leaving only dark stormy skies in the background and rough, rocky waves to correspond with the stormy scene. Read uses a variety of shades of blue to help highlight the face of the woman. The shading brings a sense of unity to the painting allowing it to flow with consistancy.
May 19, 2025 at 12:02 AM