Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The monks used Irish high crosses to celebrate the triumph of Christianity and to
provide a means of educating the illiterate masses through simple stone carvings. The
Cross of Murdock
(Muiredach'sCross,
A.D.
923)is18feettall,toweringovertheremains
of the monastic settlement at Monasterboice. It is but one of many monumental crosses
that you'll come across throughout Ireland. Typically, stone carvers depicted Bible stories
and surrounded these with the same intricate patterns seen in the Book of Kells and the
Ardagh Chalice.
Early Irish art focused on organic, geometric, and linear designs. Unlike Mediterranean
art, Irish art of this early period was not preoccupied with a naturalistic representation of
people,animals,orthelandscape.Instead,itreflectsIrishsociety'sritualsandtheelements
and rhythms of nature.
The Suppression of Native Irish Art:
After invading Ireland in 1169, the English sup-
pressed Celtic Irish culture. English traditions in architecture, painting, and literature re-
placed native styles until the late 19th century, when revivals in Irish language, folklore,
music, and art began to surface.
Painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries went to the west of Ireland, which was
untouched by English dominance and influence, in search of traditional Irish subject mat-
ter.
Jack B. Yeats
(1871-1957, brother of the poet W. B. Yeats), Belfast-born painter
Paul
Henry
(1876-1958), and
Sean Keating
(1889-1977) were among those who looked to the
west for inspiration. The National Gallery in Dublin holds many of these artists' greatest
