Free online lecture for Kildare people at National Gallery
An insightful online talk about the Gallery’s latest exhibition St Dymphna. The Tragedy of an Irish Princess will take place via ZOOM webinar on Wednesday, 22 February 2023 from 12.00pm - 1.00pm.
Head of Conservation at the Phoebus Foundation, Sven van Dorst, will discuss the recent important conservation work on the St Dymhpna altarpiece, which features in the exhibition space. This talk is free however booking is required. You will receive a link to the webinar in the e-mail receipt when you book your place.
For more information, visit www.nationalgallery.ie
Depicting the life and legacy of an Irish-born saint, this show is centred around a magnificent eight-panel altarpiece from the collection of The Phoebus Foundation (Belgium), and is the first of its kind on display in Ireland.
The exhibition has been organised together with The Phoebus Foundation (Antwerp) and features eight freestanding plinths. The plinths each house a panel, which can be viewed from both sides. A 12-minute introductory film with subtitles also accompanies these works detailing their history.
After extensive restoration and research carried out by The Phoebus Foundation, the Dymphna altarpiece by Flemish artist Goossen van der Weyden (1455-1543) has since travelled around Europe. This spring, the eight panels are on display here in Ireland for the first time at the Gallery. These colourful sixteenth-century works tell the compelling story of St Dymphna, the daughter of an Irish King.
Legend suggests that Dymphna’s mother died when she was a child, and so her father went in search of a new bride. As Dymphna began to grow up resembling her late mother very closely, her father decided that he wanted to marry her.
To escape his incestuous intentions, Dymphna fled Ireland with her confessor Gerebernus and two companions; first to Antwerp and then to nearby Geel (or Gheel) in Belgium. Dymphna’s father pursued them though, tracing them by coins that they had used on their journey. When the King’s daughter refused to return home with him, he became enraged and killed both his daughter and Gerebernus.
Dr. Katharina Van Cauteren, Chief of Staff of The Phoebus Foundation and curator of the exhibition said: ‘The tragic end of Dymphna's life was the beginning of a centuries-old tradition. Her heroic resistance made the princess so loved by the local population that her fame reached the Pope, who canonised her. She became the patron saint of the mentally ill, resulting in pilgrims travelling to Geel in the hope of finding solace for their psychological problems. Through exhibitions such as this, Dymphna’s story can become part of a collective consciousness and thus continue to inspire the same courage and kindness she has demonstrated throughout her life.’
Dr Brendan Rooney, Head Curator at the National Gallery of Ireland said: ‘The Gallery is excited to be hosting the earliest-known depiction of the life of an Irish-born saint, and to be presenting Goossen van der Weyden’s exquisite panels in such a novel way.’
Dr Lizzie Marx, Curator of Dutch and Flemish Art at the National Gallery of Ireland said: ‘Goossen van der Weyden was a gifted and imaginative artist, much like his grandfather, the artist Rogier van der Weyden. He is a master of storytelling, depicting Dymphna’s legend in glorious colour, and with marvellous details. Thanks to The Phoebus Foundation’s conservation treatment, the panels show Goossen’s work at its finest.’
This unmissable show marks the princess’s symbolic return to her homeland through the physical presence of these eight panels, offering a unique opportunity for visitors to encounter Dymphna's story. The Phoebus Foundation also published a large, lavishly illustrated book detailing the history and restoration of the original altarpiece. A limited number of copies of this book entitled ‘Crazy about Dymphna’ is available to purchase from the Gallery Shop and from The Phoebus Foundation’s website.
‘We are grateful to the administration of the city of Geel for their help during the realization of the project. It is thanks to their willingness that today we have here for the first time the eighteenth century copy of the lost sixth panel of the altarpiece. The artwork depicting the martyrdom of Saint Dymphna disappeared during the French Revolution but the Gasthuis Museum in Geel is lending an early copy of this representation for this exhibition.’ – The Phoebus Foundation.
Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie