Celtic
art developed separately from other "classical" cultures, such as Rome and
Greece. It is considered the first great contribution to European art made
by non-Mediterranean peoples. The Celtic style is marked by a preference for stylized
motifs combined in intricate, dynamic, and balanced geometrical patterns. Following the
period of Roman domination, the art of Celtic peoples on the Continent gradually lost its
distinctive style.
The
importation of objects from the Mediterranean gave the Celts contact with their art but
the Celtic style was unaffected. Constant contact with eastern and northern neighbours of
similar societal structure induced and "Orientalising" of Celtic art, e.g. the
use of the Scythian/Thraco-Cimmerian animal style. Elements of Etruscan art were also
absorbed, but where ever the Celts took styles from they immediately altered them in such
a way as to make them purely Celtic. There was no period in which the foreign style was
used and developed, the style was Celticised immediately. The pottery of the Celts is
never decorated with figurative scenes (as in Greece for example) but always with textural
designs and multi-colours. Their metalwork is highly sculptural, rejecting the Greek
methods of integrating of form and surface. The Celts never looked to the classical
societies as the centre of art work, considering their own developed style and tradition
to be equal.
To
understand and appreciate fully the art of the Celts, it is necessary to understand the
distinction between two fundamentally different styles of artistic expression. One is what
is called naturalistic art - art which attempts to represent or to imitate what is seen in
nature. The other is abstract or geometric art. It imitates nothing; it constructs
ornamental designs by means of a pleasing combination of flowing lines and decorative
patterns. It is full of fancy and imagination, and depends in a special way on a keen
sense of rhythm, balance and proportion.
The objects produced by Celtic
craftsmen were of elegant form and proportions. Decorations was always appropriate,
applied with restraint and not over-loaded.It is no wonder that much of the strongest
surviving proof of Celtic art, in spite of its origins throughout the European continent,
is to be found in the westernmost parts of Europe, Scotland and Ireland. In these areas -
Ireland and the greater part of Scotland - the Celtic populace remained largely
undisturbed.
They
carried the old traditions in their art, and were seen to achieve their greatest
masterpieces in the form of illuminated manuscripts.
Here, in the quiet and seclusion of the Irish Christian monasteries, the Celtic
artist-craftsmen could continue to evolve his decorative schemes of flowing lines and
graceful curves by beautifying the pages of the Gospels.
One
of the most important and best preserved manuscripts which has survived to this day is the
Book of Kells, which is an amazing example of early western art and one of the finest
surviving illuminated manuscripts in the whole of Europe.
Yet, in spite of it all, the old love
for the curvilinear ornament and interwoven pattern has remained in the hearts of many,
and occasionally makes a flickering appearance during this century. Looking around, one
can clearly see that copies of old Celtic masterpieces are becoming increasingly popular,
and adaptations of old designs into pottery, leatherwork, printing and even textiles are
increasing.
Tattooing is one of peoples' oldest
art forms, coming somewhere between scratching in the dirt and cave painting. All it took
was a clumsy person to fall in the fire and land on a charred, pointed stick, and someone
else to notice that a mark was left when healing took place. It was more complex than
scratching in the dirt, but simpler than mixing paints and making brushes for painting on
cave walls. Sharpen a stick, char it in a fire, stick holes in your skin and you have art.
Go read more about Celtic Tattoos...
