In 1735/36 Waterford Corporation commissioned Dutch artist Willem Van der Hagen to paint a view of the city to be hung in City Hall. The resulting work (below) is one of the earliest surviving paintings of any Irish city and while some artistic license has been used it is considered to be an accurate depiction of the thriving Georgian city. The wonderful painting may be viewed at the Waterford Treasures at the Bishop’s Palace
Two-hundred and eighty years on and Irish artist Blaise Smith ARHA is working on “A Painting for Waterford” – a dramatic 5 metre panorama of the city of Waterford commissioned by the OPW, to act as a companion piece to the Willem Van der Hagen Waterford cityscape. Painted from the same general location as the earlier work there should be a few changes!
Both will be unveiled in Autumn 2016.
Below – check-out how the artist is tackling this daunting commission.
Art for Art's Sake! 