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March 27, 1858
Death of John Hogan
On this date the Irish sculptor, John Hogan, described as 'one of the five great sculptors of the nineteenth century” died.
A great deal of the work of this great artist embellishes the Roman Catholic Basilica Cathedral in St. John’s.
John Hogan was born in Tallow in 1800. As a young man he went to Rome where he studied at the School of St. Luke and the Vatican galleries. He never lost contact with Ireland returning in 1848.
Like Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming who was largely responsible for the construction of the Roman Catholic Cathedral (now Basilica) in St. John‘s, Hogan was a devoted supporter of Daniel O'Connell, known as the Great Irish Liberator. It was no doubt their passion for all that was Irish that inspired Bishop Fleming and his successor Bishop John Thomas Mullock to commission Hogan, a fellow countryman, to do most of the art work for the Cathedral that was then under construction.
Hogan's best known work and masterpiece are his three versions of the statue of The Redeemer in Death or The Dead Christ. Created in flawless Carrara marble thethird and final version (1854) is located in the Basilica of St. John The Baptist,. (see: http://www.stjohnsarchdiocese.nf.ca/archive_moment107.asp)
Other commissions of John Hogan found in the Basilica include the striking and unusual monument of Bishop Thomas Scallan, Bishop of Newfoundland which had been commissioned by his successor Bishop Michael Anthony Fleming.
The other monument by Hogan is the bas relief (monument) of Bishop Fleming with his successor Bishop John Thomas Mullock.
Hogan was pronounced by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen as "the best sculptor I leave after me in Rome."
Arthur Griffith stated that Hogan was 'one of the five great sculptors of the nineteenth century.'
He has also be referred to as Ireland's leading Continentalist and Neo-Classicist.
The years after the Great Famine were probably the worst years of Irish social life, consequently rewarding commissions in art were very rare. Disappointed and diminished, John Hogan died at his home in Wenthworth Place, Dublin on 27 March 1858.
Archival fonds: Bishop John Thomas Mullock fonds
Recommended Reading: John Turpin, John Hogan, Irish Neo-Classical Sculptor in Rome 1982, Irish Academic Press
For more information on this and other related subjects contact the Archives of the R.C. Archdiocese. www.stjohnsarchdiocese.nf.ca
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Larry Dohey
Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John’s
P.O. Box 1363
St. John’s, NL
A1C 5M3
709-726-3660
E-mail: archives@nf.aibn.com
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