Themes in Irish Art

Religion

 

Cross of the Scriptures, Clonmacnoise

The Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise. This is the original cross, and it is now housed in the interpretative centre at Clonmacnoise. A replica stands in the grounds.

Cross of the Scriptures, Clonmacnoise

Cross of the Scriptures, Clonmacnoise

The Cross of the Scriptures at Clonmacnoise. This is the original cross, and it is now housed in the interpretative centre at Clonmacnoise. A replica stands in the grounds.

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Detail of ‘Arrest’ scene, Muiredach’s cross, Monasterboice, Co. Louth.

Detail of ‘Arrest’ scene, Muiredach’s cross, Monasterboice, Co. Louth. The brooches worn by all three figures are typical of contemporary Irish jewellery.

Courtesy of Professor Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University

Detail of ‘Arrest’ scene, Muiredach’s cross, Monasterboice, Co. Louth.
Courtesy of Professor Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University

Detail of ‘Arrest’ scene, Muiredach’s cross, Monasterboice, Co. Louth.

Detail of ‘Arrest’ scene, Muiredach’s cross, Monasterboice, Co. Louth. The brooches worn by all three figures are typical of contemporary Irish jewellery.

Courtesy of Professor Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University

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The high crosses are the earliest examples of Irish art to survive that depict figures in narrative scenes from the Old and New Testaments, typically surmounted by a representation of the Crucifixion and Judgement Day. Inspiration for the choice of scenes, and the way in which they were depicted, appears to have come from Europe, although they are sometimes given a local flavour, for example in the way that figures are dressed.

 

Wall-painting, Knockmoy Abbey, Co. Galway

Wall-painting, Abbeyknockmoy (Co. Galway) showing the attempted martyrdom of St Sebastian, and the Dance of Death.

Courtesy of the Photographic Unit, Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

Wall-painting, Knockmoy Abbey, Co. Galway
Courtesy of the Photographic Unit, Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

Wall-painting, Knockmoy Abbey, Co. Galway

Wall-painting, Abbeyknockmoy (Co. Galway) showing the attempted martyrdom of St Sebastian, and the Dance of Death.

Courtesy of the Photographic Unit, Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government

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Ennis Friary, Creagh tomb

Ennis Friary, Creagh tomb. Detail of a scene showing the betrayal of Christ. This is very similar to a number of carvings found on alabaster altar pieces made in England during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and is probably a copy of one, that perhaps once decorated the altar at Ennis.

Ennis Friary, Creagh tomb

Ennis Friary, Creagh tomb

Ennis Friary, Creagh tomb. Detail of a scene showing the betrayal of Christ. This is very similar to a number of carvings found on alabaster altar pieces made in England during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries and is probably a copy of one, that perhaps once decorated the altar at Ennis.

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During the later medieval period wall paintings, of which few now survive, depicted the stories of particular saints, moralising tales and devotional figures. Other paintings and carved panels used to decorate altars were destroyed at the Reformation, but their influence can sometimes be seen in other artworks of the period.

Chausable made at the Dún Emer Guild for St. Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea.(1902-1903)

Chausable made at the Dún Emer Guild for St. Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea.(1902-1903)

Chausable made at the Dún Emer Guild for St. Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea.(1902-1903)

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Chausables made at the Dún Emer Guild for St. Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea (1902-1903)

Chausables made at the Dún Emer Guild for St. Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea (1902-1903)

Chausables made at the Dún Emer Guild for St. Brendan's Cathedral, Loughrea (1902-1903)

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Following Catholic Emancipation in the early nineteenth century the church once again became a significant patron of art. Initially much of the imagery used to adorn newly-built Catholic churches was imported. In the earlier part of the twentieth century though, churches such as Loughrea Cathedral (Co. Galway) and the Honan Hostel Chapel (University College Cork) provided a showcase for the work of the Irish Arts and Crafts movement. Examples of fabrics by the Dún Emer guild, stained glass by artists such as Harry Clarke and liturgical vessels by metalworkers such as Edmund Johnson drew inspiration from early Christian Irish art and were major contributors to the Celtic Revival.

Mass in a Connemara Cabin (1883) by Aloysius O’Kelly (1853-c.1951)
Photo (c) National Gallery of Ireland (c) The Artist's Estate

Religious themes have also been of interest to artists representing Irish social practices, particularly in rural Ireland. Aloysius O’Kelly has addressed the practice of holding the Stations of the Cross in private homes, a practice that still continues today. 

Éire (1907) by Beatrice Elvery (1881-1970)

Beatrice Elvery (1881-1970), Éire (1907), personifies Ireland as a Madonna type figure, with the new Ireland suggestive of the baby Christ. Elvery draws on early Renaissance conventions, such as the Maesta arrangement of the enthroned Madonna with saints in the background. Note St. Patrick on the left, and the protection of ‘souls’ within her saintly cloak. The ‘halo’ provided by the High Cross connects her to ancient Irish culture.

Collection of Lady Davis Goff

Éire (1907) by Beatrice Elvery (1881-1970)
Collection of Lady Davis Goff

Éire (1907) by Beatrice Elvery (1881-1970)

Beatrice Elvery (1881-1970), Éire (1907), personifies Ireland as a Madonna type figure, with the new Ireland suggestive of the baby Christ. Elvery draws on early Renaissance conventions, such as the Maesta arrangement of the enthroned Madonna with saints in the background. Note St. Patrick on the left, and the protection of ‘souls’ within her saintly cloak. The ‘halo’ provided by the High Cross connects her to ancient Irish culture.

Collection of Lady Davis Goff

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The importance of religion to Irish identity early in the twentieth century, found its way into various images, such as Beatrice Elvery’s Éire (1907) as well as various examples by John Lavery and Mainie Jellett. 

Virgin Shroud (1993) by Dorothy Cross (b.1956)

Virgin Shroud (1993) by Dorothy Cross (b.1956). Cow hide, satin train, steel structure. The combination of cow’s udder (to form a bridal crown) and pure white dress, indicates the contradictions of traditional marital expectations, between virgin purity and reproductive nurturing. The ‘shroud’ of the title suggests such marriage was an end rather than a beginning.

Courtesy of the Kerlin Gallery, Dublin

Virgin Shroud (1993) by Dorothy Cross (b.1956)
Courtesy of the Kerlin Gallery, Dublin

Virgin Shroud (1993) by Dorothy Cross (b.1956)

Virgin Shroud (1993) by Dorothy Cross (b.1956). Cow hide, satin train, steel structure. The combination of cow’s udder (to form a bridal crown) and pure white dress, indicates the contradictions of traditional marital expectations, between virgin purity and reproductive nurturing. The ‘shroud’ of the title suggests such marriage was an end rather than a beginning.

Courtesy of the Kerlin Gallery, Dublin

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More recently, religious imagery has been adopted as means to challenge the power of the church, and associated issues such as the stereotyping of gender roles. For example, Dorothy Cross’s Virgin Shroud (1993) comments, provocatively, on the traditional expectations of women regarding both purity and reproductivity. Hughie O’Donoghue, on the other hand, has used religious symbolism, particularly the Passion of Christ, to sensitively explore human suffering, survival, and redemption.