ART HISTORY: FROM MYTH TO MIDDLE EARTH: AN ECCENTRIC ACCOUNT OF THE CELTIC REVIVAL

Two talks examining the effects of the Celtic Revival on European art and culture from the 18th Century onward. The main emphasis will be on the British story but wider influences will also be touched upon.

PART I: “Fraud and Fantasy; Finds and Facts

The Ossian ‘scam’ and its widespread influence on contemporary European literature, art and music. Archaeological discoveries which fuelled the movement in Ireland and beyond. Key figures in the Scottish Revival: John Duncan, symbolist and his colleague Patrick Geddes, naturalist and philanthropic urban re-developer. The revivalists’ wider influence on European Art Nouveau, the ‘Glasgow School’ and the Arts and Crafts movement.

PART II: “Celtic influences on 19-20th Century Art and Literature. 21st Century Celtic Cinema.” Celtic motifs and symbols; Scottish book illustrators and the decorative arts. W.B. Yeats and the Celtic Twilight in Ireland. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and ‘The Inklings’. Mythopoeia. Tolkien - artist and illustrator. Celts; Elves, Orcs and tricksy Hobbitses.