A Connemara Girl

A Connemara Girl is an early 1870s painting by the Irish artist Augustus Nicholas Burke (July 28, 1838 – 1891).

[1] One of the most identifiable paintings in Ireland, it depicts a young girl in traditional Connemara attire carrying a bundle near the shore.

It was probably painted before the artist’s reluctant emigration, prompted by his brother’s murder alongside the Chief Secretary in the Phoenix Park in 1882.

While the artist has relied on authentic detail, particularly in the girl’s costume and the terrain, he has made no attempt to disguise the contrived nature of the composition.

The central position of the figure, her head and shoulders framed by a heavy shawl, calls to mind devotional Christian imagery.