Art of the islands
Subtitle: Celtic, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon and Viking visual culture, c.450-1050
By: Michelle P. Brown
Publisher: Bodleian Library, University of Oxford
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 234
ISBN-13: 9781851244461
Subjects: Ancient Art; British Art; Art and society
Description: "The Celtic, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon and Viking peoples who inhabited the British Isles and Ireland from late prehistory to the Norman Conquest left a rich visual heritage. This is the first book to present an illustrated overview of the early art of the British and Irish archipelago during one of the most formative periods in its history. It explores the interaction between its inhabitants, and the formation of national and regional identities through the lens of visual culture. Leading expert Michelle P. Brown explains the historical context within which key artworks of the period were made and used, ranging across works as diverse as the Book of Kells, the Tara Brooch, the Aberlemno Stones, the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Alfred Jewel and the Benedictional of St Ethelwold, examining the ways in which their complex imagery can be interpreted. She also considers the impact of the art of this period upon the history of art in general: helping to inform both the Carolingian renaissance, the Romanesque and--from the late nineteenth century--the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements"--Front cover flap.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 216-228) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction : art and the islands in historical context; title: Migration and conversion : art in the melting pot, c.300-700 : Roman Britain, Germanic impact, conversion, Ireland; title: Aspects of insular art, c.600-850 : insular manuscripts, Northumbrian art, Pictish stones, early Irish metalwork, insular art and the continent; title: Southumbrian art in the eighth to ninth centuries : expansionism and exoticism : Mercian art, Tiberius manuscripts, metalwork and sculpture, Near Eastern influences; title: The islands after the Viking impact, c.800-1100 : art in Wessex, Wales, Alba, Cornwall, Man & Ireland; title: Later Anglo-Saxon England : art, state and identity, c.950-1050 : monastic reform, Anglo-Scandinavian art, art on the eve of the Norman conquest; title: Epilogue : enduring influences.