Description
Irish Church and Barn Owl by Robert Bateman
31” x 31” – Giclee Canvas – AP #6/19
“In the Connemara district of Ireland there are a number of wild and lonely lakes. If you take a boat to a certain island on one of them you will find a path winding into a woodland. The path leads to a clearing and there are the ruins of an early 12th century Christian church. There was a dreadful and dark time for the fledgling Christianity.
Vikings and barbarians were busy robbing and destroying the fragments of the Roman Empire. In remote corners little bands of priests kept the flame of learning and literature alive. The Irish monks were of vital importance in hiding and maintaining the spark of civilization that was there when stability and security returned to Europe (that is, if one can describe the feudal system as stable and secure). I felt that this clearing and this church with the sky for its roof had a very spiritual presence. I cast the painting in green tones … a spiritual colour to me. I added the barn owl, which could have been there. This bird is near the earliest owls on an evolutionary scale. It also has deep symbolic roots in the beliefs of the pre-Christian Europeans. I like the way the owls face echoes the eroded faces of the saints embedded in the Romanesque arch.” – Robert Bateman
Irish Church and Barn Owl is available
Biography
Robert Bateman has been called the most famous living artist. He continues to paint and tour the world to promote conservation and preservation of nature. We have represented Robert Bateman for decades and are now the sole publisher and distributor of his reproductions. We are so honored to work with him and witness his success. He has made such a massive contribution to the art world and the natural world as an artist and educator of the earth’s most important resources.
Nature as a subject is becoming more and more popular as our environment is in peril. What better subject is there than the beautiful creatures we share this world with? Robert Bateman’s appreciation and understanding of nature are apparent in his paintings. He is able to paint flora and fauna the way your eye would perceive it in real life. It is important that the animal takes full attention. The background becomes muted, and therefore it doesn’t take too much focus away from the subject. His paintings seem effortless and masterful all at once.
Bateman’s eye for composition is unparalleled. Each painting is a composed like a symphony, leading the eye to wander. From the backyards of North America to the sprawling plains of Africa. Robert Bateman captures nature the way it should be enjoyed. Above all he is a champion of wildlife. For this reason he has become a household name for art collectors.
