Irish Art | Encyclopedia of Visual Arts in Ireland | History of Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking

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Irish Art World 2008
Learn about Visual Arts in Ireland, including the architectural heritage and historical culture of Munster, Connacht, Leinster and Ulster, plus the artists associated with each of the 32 counties, including Dublin. Read about the functions and funding activities of the major Irish art organizations, like the Arts Council (An Chomhairle Ealaíon) and Culture Ireland (Cultúr Na hÉireann), and learn about artist groups like Aosdana, the National Sculpture Factory, Cork Printmakers and others. We also profile the National College of Art & Design in Dublin, and the Crawford School of Art & Design in Cork.

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Who's Who in Irish Art
We look at a range of Famous Irish artists involved in traditional painting and sculpture, as well as contemporary forms of expression, such as photography, installation and video. Read biographies of top painters working in oils, watercolours, gouache, acrylics, or pastels, like the expressionist Jack Butler Yeats, the academic portraitist William Orpen, the surrealist Francis Bacon, the still life master William Scott, and Louis le Brocquy. We cover the great names in Irish fine art from the 17th, 18th and 19th century - like the portraitist James Latham, history painters James Barry, and Daniel Maclise, Impressionist exponents of plein-air painting like Frank O'Meara, John Lavery, Roderic O'Conor, Norman Garstin and Walter Osborne - plus 20th century artists like: Paul Henry, Sean Keating, Tony O'Malley, Gerard Dillon, Basil Blackshaw, Brian Ballard, Hughie O'Donoghue, Graham Knuttel, Donald Teskey, John Shinnors and many more! We review Irish portrait artists, as well as Irish genre painters and landscape artists. Finally, for a strictly personal view of the best living painters in Ireland, see: Best Irish Artists.

History of Irish Visual Arts
We trace the 10 stages in the history of Irish art, including the Stone Age engravings at Newgrange, the exquisite Celtic metalwork of the Iron and Bronze ages, the Book of Kells and High Cross sculpture of the early Christian era, the formation of more modern cultural institutions which fostered the growth of Irish painting and sculpture, such as the Dublin Society, the Royal Hibernian Academy (RHA), and the Irish Exhibition of Living Art.

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Who's Who in Cork Art
The Rebel County of Ireland is renowned for its acclaimed painters, sculptors and ceramicists, as well as its festivals, galleries and other venues. No wonder Cork City was named as a European Capital of Culture in 2005! For a review of Cork Art, together with details of cultural and artistic events in the city and county, please see Cork Art News. We also cover the cultural heritage of Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, Sligo and all other counties throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Galleries & Museums
For information about the top public museums, such as the National Gallery of Ireland, the National Museum of Ireland, the Chester Beatty Library and the Hugh Lane Gallery, (to name but four), as well as the wide range of commercial venues, the artworks and the artists they represent, see: Irish Art Galleries. For new shows, see Irish Art Exhibitions.

Also, read about the great masterpieces in world-famous galleries like the Prado Museum Madrid, the Hermitage St Petersburg, the Uffizi Gallery Florence, the Louvre Museum, the Tate Gallery London, the Pinakothek Museum (Alte, Neue and Modern) in Munich, the National Gallery London, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, the Musée d'Orsay and more.

The World's Greatest Artists
For biographical details and paintings of the great European Old Masters such as Giotto, Jan Van Eyck, Roger Van Der Weyden, Botticelli, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Albrecht Durer, Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Caravaggio, Rubens, Diego Velázquez, Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, Goya and many more, see: Old Masters.

For information about more modern artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre Renoir, Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Amedeo Modigliani, Henri Matisse, John Singer Sargent, Gauguin, Cezanne, Wassily Kandinsky, Picasso, Georges Braque, Salvador Dali, Piet Mondrian, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Willem De Kooning and lots more, see: Famous Artists.

COMING SOON
Our new series on
Irish Ceramics.

Who's Who in Irish and World Sculpture
For information about the works of the best sculptors from Ireland, working in bronze, stone, clay, porcelain, wood, as well as steel and fibre glass, such as the Anglo-Irish sculptor John Foley, the neo-classical John Hogan, the Nationalist Oliver Sheppard, the 'Gaelic' sculptor Albert Power, the Cork realist Seamus Murphy, the Surrealist FE McWilliam, the figurative sculptor Rowan Gillespie, and many others, see: Irish Sculpture. For facts about the evolution of Greek sculpture, as well as works by Renaissance masters like Donatello and Michelangelo, plus Giambologna (Mannerist), Giovanni Bernini (Baroque) and Auguste Rodin (19th century), as well as the amazing Chinese terracotta army warriors, see Sculpture: History and Styles.

History of Western Art
What is the earliest human artifact? Why is Greek art and the Italian Renaissance so important to Western culture? How does the Baroque style differ from Rococo? What's the difference between Expressionism and Impressionism? What exactly is Synthetic Cubism? What is Abstract Expressionism or Action Painting? For answers to all these issues - from the Classical heritage of ancient Greece to Post-Modernism, see History of Art. In addition, you can read about the history and styles of architecture, featuring beautiful buildings by architects from prehistoric Egyptian and Classical Antiquity, as well as later Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical movements. For important dates, in the evolution of thar arts, see: History of Art Timeline.

The 5 Traditional Genres
What is a genre-painting? What exactly is a history painting? How did Dutch Realist painters hide messages inside their still life pictures? How did landscape painting develop? What sort of portraiture is associated with Picasso? Who was the greatest Impressionist landscape painter? For answers to these and all your questions about different styles of fine art, click: Painting Genres.

We also examine the history, styles and exponents of abstract art, and compare this non-representational style with representational art, including a brief survey of the Barbizon School and the Impressionist-inspired tradition of plein-air painting in Ireland.

The Meaning of Art
What is Conceptual art? What is a Happening? What are the 'plastic arts?' What's the difference between fine, visual and applied arts? How does tempera compare with encaustic paint? For answers to these and all your questions about different aesthetic forms, such as: Animation, Assemblage, Calligraphy, Ceramics, Collage, Ink-and-Wash, Installations, Life-Drawing, Mixed-media, Performance or Happenings, Photography, Screen-Printing, Glass or Video artworks, as well as a discussion of some key questions, see: Definition and Meaning of Art.

Investing in Fine Art
To see what investors will pay for a work of art on the global market, either at auction or privately, see our list of the Top 10 most expensive paintings in the world, and compare them with the most expensive Irish paintings. Read about the latest salesroom results from auctioneers like Sotheby's and Christie's, as well as top Dublin auction houses like Whyte's and Adam's, and keep up to date with news and information about the Irish art market in 2008. Learn about the types of painting and sculpture that collectors are buying, and which artists attract the best prices. You can also read about a new type of Irish art investment plan. Although the metoric rise in the value of Irish artworks is now over, the fact that stocks and shares and other financial investments are significantly down raises the question: "Is it a good idea to invest in art?" We will be investigating this issue shortly.

News of Irish and World Art
For the latest news about famous painters and sculptors, auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's, major shows and exhibitions, as well as news of cultural events in Dublin, Cork, Clare, Waterford and across Ireland, north and south, see: Irish Art News.

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Want more information about representational painting in Ireland? Looking for more information about European sculptors like Constantin Brancusi or Alberto Giacometti? Want more details of post-modernist art? Want to read more about twentieth century UK figures, like Henry Moore, Damien Hirst or the challenging Tracey Emin? Want more examples of graphics, computer or digital imagery, or more information about tribal or folk cultures, Orientalism, or Islamic art? Do you have an interest in the decorative arts as exemplified by Greek Pottery vases or the porcelain figurines and ornamental objects of Chinese Pottery? Are you interested in popular movements such as Rococo, Art Deco, Bauhaus or Art Nouveau? Would you like to read more details of the great European Academies, like the Accademia dell'Arte del Disegno in Florence, the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, or the Royal Academy in London? Would you like to see more video art or animation cartoons, or caricatures? Would you like to learn more about Medieval or Roman art, or see more still lifes or miniatures by Dutch Realists like Harmen Steenwyck, or Rachel Ruysch? Or would you prefer to read more about types of painting like frescoes, murals, or faux-finishes? How about more information on artist-groups like the Hudson River School or avant-garde movements like Dada or Fluxus? Or are you more intrigued by modern artforms like ice-sculpture or graffiti?

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We are a not-for-profit, information-only website, based in County Cork, whose aim is to promote Irish art and to celebrate beautiful painting and sculpture from around the world. Our strict Privacy Policy means we do not sell, rent, or in any way release details collected on this website to third parties. We welcome all articles about traditional and contemporary art in the 32 Counties.