Description
CELTIC ART
The Celts were people in Iron Age and Medieval Europe who spoke Celtic languages and had cultural similarities, although the relationship between ethnic, linguistic and cultural factors in the Celtic world remains uncertain and controversial.
Celtic art is generally used by art historians to refer to art of the La Tène period across Europe, while the Early Medieval art of Britain and Ireland, that is what “Celtic art” evokes for much of the general public, is called Insular art in art history. Both styles absorbed considerable influences from non-Celtic sources, but retained a preference for geometrical decoration over figurative subjects, which are often extremely stylised when they do appear; narrative scenes only appear under outside influence. Energetic circular forms, triskeles and spirals are characteristic.
The interlace patterns that are often regarded as typical of “Celtic art” were in fact introduced to Insular art from the animal Style II of Germanic Migration Period art, though taken up with great skill and enthusiasm by Celtic artists in metalwork and illuminated manuscripts. Equally, the forms used for the finest Insular art were all adopted from the Roman world: Gospel books like the Book of Kells and Book of Lindisfarne, chalices like the Ardagh Chalice and Derrynaflan Chalice, andpenannular brooches like the Tara Brooch. These works are from the period of peak achievement of Insular art, which lasted from the 7th to the 9th centuries, before the Viking attacks sharply set back cultural life.
In contrast the less well known but often spectacular art of the richest earlier Continental Celts, before they were conquered by the Romans, often adopted elements of Roman, Greek and other “foreign” styles (and possibly used imported craftsmen) to decorate objects that were distinctively Celtic. After the Roman conquests, some Celtic elements remained in popular art, especially Ancient Roman pottery, of which Gaul was actually the largest producer, mostly in Italian styles, but also producing work in local taste, including figurines of deities and wares painted with animals and other subjects in highly formalised styles. Roman Britain also took more interest in enamel than most of the Empire, and its development of champlevé technique was probably important to the later Medieval art of the whole of Europe, of which the energy and freedom of Insular decoration was an important element. Rising nationalism brought Celtic revivals from the 19th century.
WHAT IS A MANDALA?
The meaning of mandala comes from Sanskrit meaning “circle.” It appears in
the Rig Veda as the name of the sections of the work, but is also used in
many other civilizations, religions and philosophies. Even though it may be
dominated by squares or triangles, a mandala has a concentric structure.
Mandalas offer balancing visual elements, symbolizing unity and harmony. The
meanings of individual mandalas is usually different and unique to each
mandala.
The mandala pattern is used in many traditions. In the Americas, Indians
have created medicine wheels and sand mandalas. The circular Aztec calendar
was both a timekeeping device and a religious expression of ancient Aztecs.
In Asia, the Taoist “yin-yang” symbol represents opposition as well as
interdependence. Tibetan mandalas are often highly intricate illustrations
of religious significance that are used for meditation. From Buddhist stupas
to Muslim mosques and Christian cathedrals, the principle of a structure
built around a center is a common theme in architecture.
In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any diagram, chart or
geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically;
a microcosm of the universe.
Representing the universe itself, a mandala is both the microcosm and the
macrocosm, and we are all part of its intricate design. The mandala is more
than an image seen with our eyes; it is an actual moment in time. It can be
can be used as a vehicle to explore art, science, religion and life itself.
Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes “a safe refuge of inner
reconciliation and wholeness.” It is “a synthesis of distinctive elements in
a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence.”
