Irish Art: A Concise History (World of Art)

About this book

An historical review of Irish art brings into view the many gifted artists who have been linked to foreign traditions. Irish art of the early Christian era is justly celebrated. So too are the individual contributions of artists such as Jack B. Yeats. What is perhaps less widely accepted is the existence of a continuing and developing tradition of Irish art from the earliest times to the present day. Bruce Arnold traces the complex evolution of Irish art through three millennia showing how it has drawn on Celtic Anglo-Saxon Norman Mediterranean and other diverse sources. As the story unfolds Arnold repatriates Irish artists who are frequently regarded as Englishincluding William Mulready Daniel Maclise and James Barryand shows how Irish painting and sculpture illuminated manuscripts metalwork and architecture together form a rich and distinctive cultural heritage. 179 illustrations 20 in color