Kildare Arts Service : Municipal Collection

‘Flight of Doves’ - John Behan RHA

Medium: Bronze on a polished marble base

Dimensions: 67cm high

Location: Aras Chill Dara, Naas.

Born in Dublin in 1938, Behan served apprenticeships in metalwork and welding before going on to train in London and Oslo. He was a founder member of both the New Artists’ group in 1962 and the Project Art Centre in Dublin in 1967. In 1990 he became a member of the Royal Hibernian Academy having been an associate since 1973.

With this sculpture Behan has managed to make a heavy and solid metal sculpture look light and dynamic, there is a real sense of movement. The sculpture from afar looks very life-like like a flock of birds in flight, but on closer inspection you can see that the birds are rendered in quite a rough manner. Behan’s interest seems to be in creating the illusion of reality without using minute realistic detail. Behan’s style is quite similar to the of Degas’ sculptures. Degas’ sculptures were also finished in a rough imperfect way but with an overall realistic look.

Click here to compare this work to “Horse Trotting, the Feet Not Touching the Ground” by Edgar Degas

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