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World of Art
Irish Art: A Concise History
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 'English'―including William Mulready, Daniel Maclise and James Barry―and shows how Irish painting and sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork and architecture together form a rich and distinctive cultural heritage. 179 illustrations, 20 in color
180 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1969
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About the author
Bruce Arnold
66 books4 followersBruce Arnold is an English journalist and author who has lived in Ireland since 1957. His main expertise is in the fields of literary criticism and art criticism.
In 1983 it emerged that his telephone had been bugged by Charles J. Haughey in the Irish phone tapping scandal. He and the other bugged journalists were considered to have "anti-national" views.
In 1983 it emerged that his telephone had been bugged by Charles J. Haughey in the Irish phone tapping scandal. He and the other bugged journalists were considered to have "anti-national" views.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 15, 2023
I appreciate the fact that Bruce Arnold has done extensive research on many Irish artists who have not been mentioned much in art history. However, there are a few points which had let down the book for me.
1. The structure - I understand Arnold is trying to keep the book as concise as possible, but at times, it felt more like he was listing artists rather than explaining them. Perhaps a list of artist names and prominent works by them at the end might have been better so to provide a source for readers to research them at their leisure.
2. Lack of context - More in line with the first point, Arnold spent most of the book listing artists and works he liked most from them, rather than explaining how they all fit in the history of art. Perhaps a timeline or some visual diagram to see how all these artists fit into the wider historiography of art might have lifted this book's rating to 3 stars.
3. Very little mention of female artists - This is an issue many art historians have so I won't be too hard on Arnold for this, and while he has acknowledged some, it would be nice to see more images of their work, rather than a single sentence as an afterthought.
Overall, I had high hopes for this book, but sadly it did not expand my knowledge in Irish art as much as I would have liked. The images (albeit mostly devoid of colour) were decent, at least.
1. The structure - I understand Arnold is trying to keep the book as concise as possible, but at times, it felt more like he was listing artists rather than explaining them. Perhaps a list of artist names and prominent works by them at the end might have been better so to provide a source for readers to research them at their leisure.
2. Lack of context - More in line with the first point, Arnold spent most of the book listing artists and works he liked most from them, rather than explaining how they all fit in the history of art. Perhaps a timeline or some visual diagram to see how all these artists fit into the wider historiography of art might have lifted this book's rating to 3 stars.
3. Very little mention of female artists - This is an issue many art historians have so I won't be too hard on Arnold for this, and while he has acknowledged some, it would be nice to see more images of their work, rather than a single sentence as an afterthought.
Overall, I had high hopes for this book, but sadly it did not expand my knowledge in Irish art as much as I would have liked. The images (albeit mostly devoid of colour) were decent, at least.
April 27, 2018
A work with much promise but which does not, unfortunately always live up to its claim. It's the lot of these concise sorts of art histories: a well-intentioned, knowledgeable author does their best to correct historical wrongs as far as interpretation. Here the issue is the compacting of "Britannic" art into something called "Anglo-Irish" art, with a heavy lean on the former. Arnold tries to rectify that, with an emphasis on early Christian art in Ireland, which was very much Irish, and a heavy focus on the last century and a half or so.
Problem is, the book, like a lot of these, degenerates into little more than a litany of names and dates with little more on offer. Granted, you'll discover new things here that you might branch off into. For me, the section on Jack Yeats was great and I learned about new artists, like Rodric O'Connoy that I had never been aware of, so there is some value in that.
Needs a few hundred pages added to it!
Problem is, the book, like a lot of these, degenerates into little more than a litany of names and dates with little more on offer. Granted, you'll discover new things here that you might branch off into. For me, the section on Jack Yeats was great and I learned about new artists, like Rodric O'Connoy that I had never been aware of, so there is some value in that.
Needs a few hundred pages added to it!
January 14, 2024
Black and white plates are a bummer
February 9, 2024
A synoptic meisterwerk! and wonderful to see too that we have managed to hold here in Ireland some of the vistas contained and described within. TenTen!
July 18, 2014
This does exactly what is says on the tin, which is a very concise history of Irish art. It starts from around 3000 BC to present day art and artists. You will get a gist of what Irish art is all about but because of its size does not go into too much detail. Although it does its best to cover as much as possible and tries to pay attention to the main aspects in this country's history of art my main complaint is that over 80% of the images are in black and white. Since most of the pictures are of paintings it is like writhing about poetry without using ink. Plus the author does not always mention where the work it located [which museum etc.].
It is not a bad attempt and Arnold does mention in his introduction that due to costs there was a lot he could not do when revising this edition. It gives plenty of names and dates in which can be useful as a stepping stone to further research.
It is not a bad attempt and Arnold does mention in his introduction that due to costs there was a lot he could not do when revising this edition. It gives plenty of names and dates in which can be useful as a stepping stone to further research.
December 16, 2017
I remember there being a large gap at one point in the chronology of Irish art history in this book. The beginning chapters contain a handy overview but I travelled to Ireland for a cousins wedding so I wasn't focused on art history. I have to read it again to give an honest review.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews