William Sadler II c. 1782-1839 "Enniskerry, with Sugarloa...

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William Sadler II c. 1782-1839

"Enniskerry, with Sugarloaf Mountain in the Distance and Figures in a Landscape," a pair., O.O.P., 15 h x 23 w cms (6” x 9”) both same size

In the first of this charming pair of panel paintings, a couple pause outside an inn, to chat to a man leaning on a fence. Behind them, a river cascades under a stone bridge. In the background are houses and a church, and beyond that a mountain. The scene depicted is most likely the village of Enniskerry, with the Sugarloaf Mountain rising in the distance. although there are some ‘capriccio’ elements that Sadler has introduced, to add interest to the scene, including the church steeple, and the building on the right. While the painting dates from around 1820, St. Patrick’s Church, with its tall steeple was not built until the 1850’s. Enniskerry was developed in the early nineteenth century, as a ‘model’ village, to house workers on the nearby Powerscourt estate.

The second painting depicts a small group of people beneath a tree in a woodland setting. Two standing figures, a man with a walking stick and a woman with a child wrapped in her red coat, look anxiously at the sky, as if anticipating a coming storm. Another figure is seated in a grassy bank.

Although best-known for his small landscape and genre scenes, depicting scenes in Wicklow, Dublin and Killarney, William Sadler II was also capable of tackling ambitious subject matter, as with his panoramic paintings, The Battle of Waterloo, The Embarkation of George IV at Kingstown 1821, and A London Capriccio inspired by the Burning of the Custom House 1814—the last of these one of only three known signed works by Sadler. For his smaller paintings he generally used mahogany or copper panels rather than canvas and his paintings often depend upon effects of light, either sunlight or firelight, to silhouette buildings, trees and figures. The motif of the hanging inn sign appears also in his Donnybrook Fair, as does Sadler’s artistic device of introducing a highlighted area behind this focal point, adding visual drama to the work. He painted recognisable landscapes, as with the Sugarloaf Mountain or Howth Head, and also ‘capricci’ where he invented buildings and landscapes. Invariably there is activity in his paintings, with ships heeling in the wind, banditti gathered around a fire, or travellers making their way along a country road.

Born in or around 1782, son of a mezzotint artist of the same name, William Sadler II taught art and exhibited in Dublin through the first four decades of the nineteenth century. His father died when he was six years old, leaving Sadler to embark early on a career as a painter. In turn, he had a son, also called William Sadler, who was born in 1808 and is known for a painting of the army barracks (now demolished) overlooking the town of Fermoy.

Dr. Peter Murray, 2022