The Virgin enthroned (Altar piece triptych)
(1950-1951)
Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
126.0 × 195.8 cm (overall)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1951
© The Estate of Justin O’Brien. Courtesy of Philip Bacon Galleries, Brisbane
Gallery location
14th - 16th Century Gallery - Painting & Decorative Arts
Level 1, NGV International
About this work
Justin O’Brien commenced art studies at the age of thirteen, and left school the following year to become a full-time apprentice with a local Sydney painter,Edward M. Smith. O’Brien subsequently taught art in Catholic schools. Immensely talented, in his early twenties he was a finalist in the Archibald Prize for portraiture in 1937, 1938 and 1939. Enlisted into the army during the Second World War, O’Brien was posted as a medical orderly to Ekali, Greece, where he discovered the traditions of Byzantine icon painting. This aesthetic was to inform his art practice from this point onwards. The elongated figures, mountainous landscape and hot colours in this triptych are all derived from this Byzantine style.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Sydney, New South Wales
Accession Number
2901-4
Department
Australian Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Landscapes Religion and Mythology
Subjects (specific)
baptisms Blessed Virgin Mary (Christian character) Jesus Christ (Christian character) Madonna and Child (Christian theme) men (male humans) thrones