Irish art has a very long history, dating back thousands of years. One of the oldest exhibits of Irish art is Newgrange. Newgrange dates back to the Neolithic era, around 3200 B.C.E. Newgrange has curb stones that have circles and spirals inscribed on it. The circles and spirals became a very important part of Irish art throughout history. Around the 2nd century B.C.E., the island of Ireland got the compass (not the navigational tool, but rather the geometric tool). With this, the people of Ireland were able to create perfect circles. Also during this time, they started to draw vines and tendrils. This became the core of Irish art, or Insular. This means island art. This art interwove vines, spirals, and patterns.
This style led to many different illustrated manuscripts and the Celtic knot. The most famous manuscript is The Book of Kells, which is kept at Trinity College in Dublin. This manuscript was created by a group of monks around 800 C.E. It is ecclesiastic with patterns, however it was not meant for church use, but rather for very rich citizens. The manuscript once had a metal cover with jewels on it. The book was stolen, but later returned without the cover. This book curves men to create the first letter of the line on every page. It is very detailed!
Ireland is also famous for their round towers. They were used to house church relics! There are around 70 towers remaining.
A very famous Irish artist is Brian O’Doherty. His alter ego was “Patrick Ireland,” who created art in NYC to protest Bloody Sunday.
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