“Beauty is a form of Genius--is higher, indeed, than Genius, as it needs no explanation. It is one of the great facts of the world, like sunlight, or springtime, or the reflection in the dark waters of that silver shell we call the moon. It cannot be questioned. It has divine right of sovereignty. It makes princes of those who have it.”
― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Gerard Byrne, Ireland’s celebrated Modern Impressionist, brings his distinctive artistic vision to the historic Oscar Wilde House at One Merrion Square North. Offering a modern artistic complement to the rich history that once thrived within the Wilde household, the walls of this iconic Dublin landmark are where his oil paintings hang.
This house is where Oscar Wilde spent his early years, a time that shaped his nascent experience of the world, surrounded by the vibrancy of his parents, Lady Jane Wilde and Sir William Wilde. For 21 years, the Wilde home was a beacon of Victorian culture and discourse, and now, through Byrne’s work, this tradition continues in a contemporary form.
Byrne’s paintings, known for their bold palette, expressive brushwork, and effective contrasts of light and shadow, echo the gentle treatment of wonder that Aestheticism, a movement with which Wilde is closely associated, promotes. It's ideal that the aim of the artist is to create beauty is a belief to which Byrne himself has remained true throughout his artistic career. A self-taught artist with an innate gift for capturing sharp perspectives and spontaneous moments, Byrne’s paintings offer a visual exploration of such beauty, informed by his travels across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
Byrne’s involvement with the Oscar Wilde House began in the autumn of 2023, during the first festival of Oscariana—an event inspired by the salons that Wilde’s mother, Speranza, famously hosted at the House from 1859 to 1874. These weekly gatherings brought together musicians, poets, and intellectuals like Bram Stoker, John B. Yeats, and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, offering a space for creative minds to connect freely and inspire each other. Today, the festival seeks to recreate that same sense of collaborative energy, and Byrne’s paintings are an integral part of this living tradition.
The synergy between Byrne’s work and Oscar Wilde’s legacy is particularly evident in their choice of subject matter. Wilde’s favorite flowers were lilies and sunflowers, and Byrne has somehow always been drawn to them too. His Pink Lilies (2009), White Oriental Lilies (2018) and the Wilde Sunflowers (2023) he painted for the festival, that hang at the House reflect this shared affinity.
Whether it be One Merrion Square North, Gerard Byrne Studio Dublin or New York City, the spirit of place captured by Byrne's Impressionist lens- one that finds wonder in the mundane, and turns the ordinary into something extraordinary- is a testament to the nature of art and the legacy of those artists that paved the way. As visitors now walk through the rooms where Oscar Wilde once lived, they do so alongside the vivid energy of Byrne’s work, further deepening the corelations between art, history, and the spirit of creativity that continues to define Dublin.