Arts & Literature
Few places on the planet are as crammed with history as Ireland. Everywhere you look there are castles, houses and monuments, some even older than the Pyramids. In Ireland the past is part of the present, part of the people and part of its vibrant culture.
The earliest Irish art is found in carvings on megalithic monuments dating from 2500 - 2000 BC. In early historic times, Celtic art predominated, reaching its peak in illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Durrow and the Book of Kells. While the basic Celtic patterns remain, European influences such as Viking, Romanesque and Gothic styles are seen in work executed later than the 9th century. The large, distinctly Irish, stone crosses, seen across the country date from the 9th and 10th centuries.
From the mid-17th century, decorative arts and large- scale building flourished under the influence of contemporary European trends.
By the early 19th century neo-classicism, romanticism, and later naturalism, were the dominant forces in painting. They were replaced at the end of that century by impressionism. This was a particularly rich period which gave us artists such as Nathaniel Hone, Walter Osborne, John Lavery, William Leech, John Butler Yeats and William Orpen.
Modernism was first explored by the painters Evie Hone and Mainie Jellett. A forum for the new movement was provided by the Irish Exhibition of Living Art, founded in 1943. From this emerged internationally influenced artists such as Louis Le Brocquy, Patrick Scott, Michael Farrall, Robert Ballagh and, to a lesser extent, Patrick Collins, Tony O'Malley, Camille Souter and Barrie Cooke.
Monumental sculpture of 19th century is best represented by the work of John Hogan and John Henry Foley whose tradition lasted into the 20th century with such sculptors as Oisín Kelly, Séamas Murphy and Hilary Heron. Contemporary sculptors include Brian King, John Behan, Michael Bulfin, Michael Warran and Eilis O' Connell.
