An attack of the Arts
Malcolm Rogers surveys the seven great Irish art treasures you should
see before you die.
 By Malcolm
Rogers
Ireland’s cultural and artistic treasures tend to be in the literary
or musical field. Anyone can buy a Beckett play or a Yeats poem, and you
have in your hands one of the gems of what we fondly call western civilization.
Similarly you can buy yourself a tin whistle, learn a few airs and for
a few pounds take part in one of the finest bodies of traditional music
extant in the world.
If it’s beauty for the eye you’re after then have we got views
for you. The Antrim Coast Road, recently voted the fifth most impressive
sight in the world, is only one of many awe-inspiring vistas Ireland has
to offer.
Because of our oral and literary achievements, the perception has grown
that we have few must-see paintings, Jack-the-lad architecture or stunning
sculptures. But Irish art has produced its own inspiring body of masterpieces
which everyone should see once in their life-time.
 The
Book of Kells
The Book of Kells — also known as the Book of Columba — is
an ornately illuminated manuscript (but don’t ask them to switch
it on, folks!) produced by Celtic monks around AD 800. It is quite simply
one of the most beautiful man-made creations you’ll ever see. It’s
reckoned today to be one of the most valuable books in the world and has
been described as the zenith of Western calligraphy and illumination.
Written in Latin on the velum of, reputedly, 170 cattle — the four
gospels of the Bible are decorated with numerous colourful illustrations
and illuminations. It is on permanent display at the Trinity College Library
in Dublin.
The Book of Durrow
Near the Book of Kells sits the almost-as-impressive Book of Durrow, a
7th century illuminated manuscript made (probably) at Durrow Abbey, Co.
Offaly. Some 200 years older than the Book of Kells the Durrow tome is
also a Gospel Book — possibly the oldest complete illuminated gospel
from Ireland or Britain still surviving.
In the 16th century when Durrow Abbey was dissolved the book disappeared
but happily was found a century later.
The beautiful Irish five pound notes of the “Series B” (ie
late 20th century issue) included an excerpt from the book and were themselves
surely the most beautiful currency in the world (you can view them in
the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin).
 The
Ardagh Chalice
Ireland’s foremost jewelled metal art treasure is currently housed
in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin and is considered the jewel
in the crown of the museum and indeed the nation. The beautifully-proportioned
chalice is the finest example of early medieval metalwork ever to have
come to light. Some six inches high it is made of silver, bronze and gold.
The design and decoration indicates that the people (or person) who made
it knew their art as well as any craftsman in the world at the time. Stand
back and marvel at this ancient Irish art treasure.
 The Liffey
Swim by Jack B Yeats
Jack B Yeats, brother of WB, started his career as an illustrator and
cartoonist — trivia fans will be tickled to learn that Jack produced
the first cartoon strip version of Sherlock Holmes in 1894. Oh and if
you’re in the market for this sort of thing he also won a silver
medal at the 1924 Olympic Games in painting.
However it was Yeats’s evocation of the Irish countryside which
is his lasting epitaph. He believed that ‘a painter must be part
of the land and of the life he paints’ and The Liffey Swim is as
good an example of that as you’ll find. This delicately beautiful
watercolour is housed in the National Gallery of Ireland, Merrion Square
West, Dublin 2.
A Family
by Louis le Brocquy
Born in Dublin of Huguenot stock Louis le Brocquy is one of the foremost
Irish painters of the 20th century.
Louis won the prestigious Premio Acquisito Internationale with A Family
— a painting which was subsequently included in the historic exhibition
Fifty Years of Modern Art at Brussels World Fair 1958. At the time of
its first showing it was accused of being ‘an unwholesome and satanic
distortion of natural beauty’, but it’s now acknowledged as
a highly-significant work in the history of 20th-century art.
It is currently housed in the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin.
The Muiredach Cross, Monasterboice
The Monastery of Monasterboice, founded by St. Buithe mac Bronach, is
home to one of the finest High Crosses in the world. As many as six high
crosses stood at this site in the middle of the pastoral, rolling landscape
of Co. Louth. The Muiredach Cross (south cross) and west cross still stand,
almost undamaged, looked over by an almost intact round tower. The intricate
stonework, the fine masonic lines of the structure, the testament to Ireland’s
golden age of Christianity and the impressive setting make this one of
Europe’s great art treasures.
Brú na Bóinne, Co. Meath
Ireland has no Taj Mahal, no Alhambra and no Sistine Chapel. But it does
have one of the oldest buildings in the world, Brú na Bóinne,
or Newgrange. Built some 5000 years ago it is more than 500 years older
than the Great Pyramid and predates Stonehenge by about 1,000 years. Aside
from its longevity Brú na Bóinne is also the venue of a
startling phenomenon every year. On December 21 a moment of drama is played
out and has been for some 5,000 years in a row. At dawn a pencil of sunlight
penetrates the Neolithic burial chamber of Newgrange, lighting it up for
20 minutes before darkness falls for another year.
The huge structure of Brú na Bóinne built by our forebears
is perfectly aligned so that the first rays of the winter solstice sun
pierce through a small opening in the chamber’s roof and travel
19 metres along a narrow stone passage to focus on the entrance to the
grave. Never mind the Hanging Gardens of Babylon — this is one of
the great architectural gems of the world.
|
