Fintan Cullen examines a painting produced in Dublin in 1780 of the interior of the Irish House of Commons. Cullen explores the format of the painting and its failure as a large scale work of contemporary history and concludes that contents of picture is a political and social illusion. Fintan Cullen's main research area is the art and representation of Ireland from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century. His publications display a long interest in exploring the representation of Ireland's colonial relationship with Britain. Although Ireland is the focus of much of his work, in a wider sense he is interested in the relationship between national identity and art production and he welcomes applications from research students interested in exploring these themes in a variety of cultures or historical periods. His present research topic is on art and migration in the long nineteenth century with a particular focus on Ireland and the Irish diaspora. Publication