Hell Fire Club, Dublin: Redemption from the Desolation of Souls

Landscape

Growing up close to the Dublin mountains, you would hear tales of the historic Hell Fire Club which according to legend was a club founded in the early 1700s by members suspected of dabbling in the occult. The membership typically included young aristocrats and members of the the club were accused of partaking in drunken orgies, gambling, murder, human sacrifice and devil worship. The story goes that members of that organisation would meet at a secluded hunting lodge on Montpellier Hill in the Dublin Mountains. Although the Club is long since a thing of lore, and the lodge is long derelict, its legend lives on in popular consciousness, most notably a tale concerning the Devil showing up there one night as a mysterious stranger to play cards. I have reimagined this piece to be set in the early 1900s, albeit that the club had disbanded well before then: that is how I imagined it as a child. Locals used to insist that the place was haunted, and I used that narrative to create the painting: the former members of the club after death are cursed to reside there, but without bodies they cannot sate their appetites for carnal pleasure or alcohol. Further, Satan bars them exit from the building. In this piece I imagined that eventually the tortured souls of the former members are released from their damnation  when they overcome their addictions to carnality and vice and seek forgiveness from God. They exit the building in the predawn darkness moments before they will disappear into the light. 

To capture some of the grittiness of the theme, there has been extensive use of a kind of impasto, via clumping of paint on the surface.

Growing up in Dublin you would hear tales of the historic Hell Fire Club which according to legend was a club founded in the early 1700s by members suspected of dabbling in the occult. The membership typically included young aristocrats and members of the the club were accused of partaking in drunken orgies, gambling, murder, human sacrifice and devil worship. The story goes that members of that organisation would meet at a secluded hunting lodge in the Dublin Mountains. The Club is long since a thing of memory, and the lodge is long derelict, but its legend lives on.

Black

White

Natural Wood

Solid aluminum frame in light pewter color|Simple and clean lines make it perfect for all types of prints|Sleek box profile, 7/8" tall and 1.25" deep|Bright white mat border|Thick 0.098" framing-grade clear acrylic|Mounted on acid-free foam board and black paper backing|Arrives ready to hang with installed hardware

Metal: Light Pewter

Solid aluminum frame in dark pewter color|Simple and clean lines make it perfect for all types of prints|Sleek box profile, 7/8" tall and 1.25" deep|Bright white mat border|Thick 0.098" framing-grade clear acrylic|Mounted on acid-free foam board and black paper backing|Arrives ready to hang with installed hardware

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Hell Fire Club, Dublin: Redemption from the Desolation of Souls Print

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