'Painter That Took Our Breath Away...'

25 Apr 201213
The band has paid tribute to  the great  expressionist painter  Louis Le Brocquy who has died in Dublin at the age of 95.

'From the moment we met him at an Amnesty International event in 1984, our band had a strange intimacy with this giant of the art world - a gentle giant who taught manners to the world around him just by having more of them than anyone else.
'We were fans but he called us friends, starstruck friends were common in his orbit. To so many of us he  was the brightest star in the firmament, always there to guide, to encourage, to push you to realise your potential… a bit professorial but that was ok… we behaved like a bunch of  students, asking about Beckett, Bacon, Balthus, whoever. He mostly indulged our inquiries. We were, we are, eternally grateful for this education.
'Now the painter that took our breath away as teenagers, the same way Bob Dylan or Patti Smith did, is gone from us but the illumination in the work he has left behind will take some pain out of that loss - and we have his beloved Anne to treasure.'
Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry



Born in Dublin in 1916, Louis Le Brocquy's work has spanned seven decades with particular accolades coming for his evocative portrait heads of great literary figures, friends and fellow artists including WB Yeats and James Joyce, Samuel Beckett and Francis Bacon and Seamus Heaney and Bono (above).

Discover more about the life and work of Louis Le Brocquy  here

Comments
13
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the lily of the valey
so nice!thanx 4 sharin:)Abbey sia luv u
Yogic
Discover More Indeed
My first view of Mr Louis work.... Looks and feels like everything that bubbles up under your skin.... : ). Thanks with Love
ms.tanyamcload
msmcload
One of my all-time favorite painters. We are so blessed that he shared his talent with this world for as long as he did.
dunsk
Ripple Effect
I see the portrait of Bono not as if coming out of an expansive and mysterious space but rather as if ripples are emanating from Himself. As art as in life.
Indrani
He was great.
We miss you!
Songs Of Ascent?
Random comment from a person who enjoys your art: No news of 'Songs Of Ascent'? Please please release those songs. I gotta tell you... I got the deluxe version of No Line On The Horizon for Christmas a couple years ago. I started wathing the DVD that came with it... and heard 'Winter'. It is so beautiful, I couldn't help but cry when I first heard it. I still think it's the most beautiful song I've ever heard. I'm guessing 'Songs Of Ascent' is something like that, so pleeease release it.
tan_lejos_tan_cerca
Great artist
It's a great loss for the art world and this words express the closeness of the band to him. It's always sad to loose a great artist but his legacy will continue teaching us. That portrait of Bono is like feeling his presence in the air with those soft waves that change and expand. It captivates you in a very powerful way. And that is his gaze, as he was looking inside you...
magsieboy
Wow , i want a print!!
What an amazing piece of artwork, Bono just seems to come out of a crumpled piece of paper!! I love it does anyone know how to ,if they do,get prints of this and others,genius work!!!!
ShellBeThere
Now I know...
I didn't know of this man or his work til reading this today...always feels sad to me to hear of someone's passing at the same time I learn of their legacy! The portrait shown here is amazing indeed, those focused deep furrows fading back in waves and forward into...what?...some mysterious connection. Now I can explore his work, sad to know it lies behind his last earthly breath...
musicabona
How to own a colour
It is sad that this great artist had to die. U2;s words about him and his outstanding work are very heartwarming, expressing their deep and longtime relationship to this inspiring painter. The portrait of Bono is very haunting, with his face coming out of a wide and mysterious space. Louis Le Brocquy was one of those artists with the exceptional ability to create his own reality by using subtle layers of colour. With a seemingly minimalistic colour palette he succeeded to reveal a whole spectrum of human emotions. After his death his beautiful work will continue to shine. Rest In Peace, Louis Le Brocquy.
andrewja2003
Wow
Just saw Cold Dream Colour today and before I saw the film I had absolutely no idea that he just died today I found out 1 minute after I saw the film today...RIP Louis Le Brocquy (1916-2012)
Hardfelt
Evocative
His head pieces really get at the essence of the subject, don't they? The portrait of Bono has images of Bob Hewson in it and beyond the hallucinatory doubling, lies the spirit of the man.
bellydancr
a true inspiration
He was one of my favorite artists, I'm so saddened by his death, but this is a nice little tribute. Thanks!
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