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History of the Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are divine beings that came to Ireland by ships and inhabited the country before the native Irish. They came to Ireland to take the land from the Fir Bolgs that had already been residing in the north of Ireland at the time. The Tuatha were immediately perceived as gods for their superior skills: various arts of druidry, magic, prophecy and history. Their leader was named Nuada. He led them to war against the Fir Bolgs around the west shore of Ireland, where the Tuatha had arrived by ship. Many of the Tuatha died in this war, but thousands of Fir Bolgs died. Including their leader, Eochai Mac Erc. They come from another world, but reside in Ireland until they were pushed out by war with a semi-demonic race called the Fomorians. Their king is known in the mythology as Balor. The Fomorians resided on the outskirts of Ireland. When the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated in battle against the Milesians, they were forced to live underground in the Sidhes. The Sidhes were chambers under Ireland's surface. Though away from the mortal world, they still would come to surface on special days like Hallowe'en and May Day.
Verse texts
Besides independent verses, a number of poems are embedded in prose tales, etc. A number of them are also preserved in the pseudohistorical Lebor Gabála Érenn, Keating, etc.
Arsaidh sin a eóuin Accla ("Fintan and the Hawk of Aicill")
Coire Érmai / Coire Goriath ("The Cauldron of Poesy")
Lore
Collected lore are not wholly of mythological content, but parts of it are. "The Fitness of Names" (#149–159, etc.) provides interesting explanations on names of Dian Cecht among others. Irish onomastica, the Dindshenchas, also include stories about deities such as Boann (under Inber Colptha), the Dagda (under Fidh nGaible), Brecan (Coire Brecain), often in developed narrative verse or prose tales. Genealogical tracts and the Roll of the Kings, various glosses (e.g. to the law treatise Senchus Mor) may also be culled for information.
Banshenchas ("History of Women") Dobbs 1932
Cóir Anmann ("The Fitness of Names"): Stokes 1897
Dindsenchas ("Lore of Places")
Sanas Cormaic ("Cormac's Glossary"): Nes[s] (Nescoit)
Triads of Ireland: mention of the indeoin Dagdai, ox of Díl, etc.
Pseudohistory
Chronicon Scotorum
Lebor Gabála Érenn
Folktales
Glas Gaibhnenn
Prose tales
The following prose tales are described in greater depth in the following section.
Survey of prose tales
The euhemerised deities arrived in five sets of migrations (see Lebor Gabála Érenn), but none of the individual migrations tales (Irish: tochomlada; sing. tochomlod) survived intact.
Remnants of the migration tales are the summarised accounts given in the Lebor Gabála Érenn (Book of Invasions). Apart from these are the tale of Tuan mac Cairill, Fintan mac Bóchra colloquy. Tuan and Fintan are ancient beings from the Antediluvian past, who have reincaranted into different creatures, and are referred to in the Lebor Gabála Érenn as well.
Of the battle tales (Irish: catha; sing. cath), the full narratives of the First and Second Battle of Moytura (Battles of Mag Tuired) survive in relatively late (16th century) manuscripts.
Other important battle tales such as the Cath Tailten (Battle of Tailten) or Orgain Tuir Chonaind ("Massacre of Conan's Tower") are lost, though abstracted in the Lebor Gabála Érenn.
The late romance of Oidheadh Chloinne Tuireann ("The Fate of the Children of Tuireann") tells how Lugh fines the sons of Tuireann for his father Cian's murder, compelling them to collect a series of magical objects and weapons which will be useful in the second battle of Mag Tuired against the Fomorians. An earlier version of this is recorded in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, with a somewhat different list of fines (eiric), with no indication the murder happened on the eve of the great battle.
In the Oidheadh Chloinne Lir ("The Fate of the Children of Lir"), the eponymous children are turned into swans by their jealous stepmother, and live in swan form into Christian times, when they are converted, transformed back into human form, and die of extreme old age.
Tochmarc Étaíne ("The Wooing of Étaín") tells first of the conception of Aengus through the adultery of the Dagda and Boann, and how Aengus won the residence of the Brú na Bóinne from Boann's husband Elcmar. It goes on to tell of the various lives of Étaín, wife of Midir, who is turned into a fly and driven away by Midir's jealous first wife Fuamnach. In her insect form she becomes the companion of Aengus, until Fuamnach once again drives her away, and she is swallowed by a mortal woman and reborn as her daughter. Her beauty attracts the attention of the High King, Eochaid Airem, who marries her; ultimately her berift husband Midir uses magic and trickery to win her back.
There is also a curious account regarding Goídel Glas, the legendary ancestor of the migratory races and eponymous creator of the Gaelic language, and how he was cured by Moses's rod from a snake bite, related to in the Lebor Gabála Érenn, although Macalister is dismissive of it as fiction invented by glossators.
See also
List of High Kings of Ireland
Metrical Dindshenchas
Celtic astrology
Footnotes
References
Dictionaries
Bergin, Osborn (1927). "How the Dagda Got his Magic Staff". Medieval Studies in Memory of Gertrude Schoepperle Loomis. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 399–406. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 10 March 2010.
Mackillop, James (1998). Dictionary of Celtic Mythology. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280120-1.
Critical studies
Arbois de Jubainville, Marie Henri de (1884). Le cycle mythologique irlandais et la mythologie celtique [The Irish mythological cycle and Celtic mythology]. Paris, FR: Ernest Thorin – via Google Books.
Arbois de Jubainville, Marie Henri de; Best, Richard Irvine (1903). The Irish mythological cycle and Celtic mythology (google) (translation ed.). Dublin, IE: O'Donoghue.
O'Curry, Eugene (1878). Lectures on the manuscript materials of ancient Irish history. Dublin: William A. Hinch / Patrick Traynor – via Google Books.
Primary sources
Dobbs, Margaret E. (1929). "Altrom Tighi da Meadar" [The Fosterage of the House of Two Goblets] (snippet). Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 18: 187–230 – via Google Books. (ed. & tr.) (CLC, English)
Dobbs, Margaret E. (1932). "The Ban-Shenchus". Revue Celtique. 47: 283–339 – via Google Books., RC 48 (1931), 163–234 (snippet); (index), RC 49 (1932), 407–489 (snippet)(CLC, English)
Dobbs, Margaret E. (1937). "Tochomlad mac Miledh a hEspain i nErind: no Cath Tailten?" (snippet). Études Celtiques. 2. Paris: Librairie E. Droz: 187–230 – via Google Books. (ed. & tr.) (CLC, English)
Fraser, J. (1915). "The First Battle of Moytura". Ériu. 8: 1–63. (auth. = tr. & ed.)
Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (1938). Lebor Gabála Érenn [The Book of the Taking of Ireland]. Vol. 1. Dublin: Irish Texts Society – via Internet Archive.
Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (1939). Lebor Gabála Érenn [The Book of the Taking of Ireland] (snippet). Vol. 2. ISBN 1-870166-35-3 – via Google Books.
Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (1940). Lebor Gabála Érenn [The Book of the Taking of Ireland]. Vol. 3 – via Internet Archive.
Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (1941). Lebor Gabála Érenn [The Book of the Taking of Ireland]. Vol. 4 – via Internet Archive.
Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (1956). Lebor Gabála Érenn [The Book of the Taking of Ireland]. Vol. 5 – via Internet Archive.
Stokes, Whitley (1897). "Cóir Anmann" [The Fitness of Names]. Irische Texte. 3, part 2. Leipzig, DE: Verlag vons S. Hirzel: 285–444 – via Google Books. (auth. = tr. & ed.)
Hull, Vernam (1933). "De Gabáil in t-Sída" [Concerning the Seizure of the Fairy Mound]. Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie. 19: 53–58. (auth. = tr. & ed.) cf. The Taking of the Síd-mound @ Paddy Brown's site.
Hull, Vernam (1935). "The Invasion of Nemed". Modern Philology. 33 (2): 119–123. doi:10.1086/388185. S2CID 161087706. available via "Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae" (published texts).
Hyde, Douglas (June 1915). "Eachtra Léithín" [The Adventures of Léithín]. The Celtic Review. 10 (38): 116–143. doi:10.2307/30070332. JSTOR 30070332 – via Internet Archive. (auth. = tr. & ed.)
External links
Wright, Charles D. "The Irish Mythological Cycle and Pseudo-History". Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. — (Professor @ U. Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
"Book of Invasions". Timeless Myths.
"Episodes 1–29: Irish Mythological Cycle stories re-told". Celtic Myth Podshow.
"Celtic Literature Collective" (in Irish). Archived from the original on 10 September 2009.
Portrait painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and private persons, or they may be inspired by admiration or affection for the subject. Portraits often serve as important state and family records, as well as remembrances.
Historically, portrait paintings have primarily memorialized the rich and powerful. Over time, however, it became more common for middle-class patrons to commission portraits of their families and colleagues. Today, portrait paintings are still commissioned by governments, corporations, groups, clubs, and individuals. In addition to painting, portraits can also be made in other media such as prints (including etching and lithography), photography, video and digital media.
It may seem obvious today that a painted portrait is intended to achieve a likeness of the sitter that is recognisable to those who have seen them, and ideally is a very good record of their appearance. In fact this concept has been slow to grow, and it took centuries for artists in different traditions to acquire the distinct skills for painting a good likeness.
Technique and practice
A well-executed portrait is expected to show the inner essence of the subject (from the artist's point of view) or a flattering representation, not just a literal likeness. As Aristotle stated, "The aim of Art is to present not the outward appearance of things, but their inner significance; for this, not the external manner and detail, constitutes true reality." Artists may strive for photographic realism or an impressionistic similarity in depicting their subject, but this differs from a caricature which attempts to reveal character through exaggeration of physical features. The artist generally attempts a representative portrayal, as Edward Burne-Jones stated, "The only expression allowable in great portraiture is the expression of character and moral quality, not anything temporary, fleeting, or accidental."
In most cases, this results in a serious, closed lip stare, with anything beyond a slight smile being rather rare historically. Or as Charles Dickens put it, "there are only two styles of portrait painting: the serious and the smirk." Even given these limitations, a full range of subtle emotions is possible from quiet menace to gentle contentment. However, with the mouth relatively neutral, much of the facial expression needs to be created through the eyes and eyebrows. As author and artist Gordon C. Aymar states, "the eyes are the place one looks for the most complete, reliable, and pertinent information" about the subject. And the eyebrows can register, "almost single-handedly, wonder, pity, fright, pain, cynicism, concentration, wistfulness, displeasure, and expectation, in infinite variations and combinations."
Portrait painting can depict the subject "full-length" (the whole body), "half-length" (from head to waist or hips), "head and shoulders" (bust), or just the head. The subject's head may turn from "full face" (front view) to profile view (side view); a "three-quarter view" ("two-thirds view") is somewhere in between, ranging from almost frontal to almost profile (the fraction is the sum of the profile [one-half of the face] plus the other side's "quarter-face"; alternatively, it is quantified 2⁄3, also meaning this partial view is more than half a face). Occasionally, artists have created composites with views from multiple directions, as with Anthony van Dyck's triple portrait of Charles I in Three Positions. There are even a few portraits where the front of the subject is not visible at all. Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World (1948) is a famous example, where the pose of the disabled woman – with her back turned to the viewer – integrates with the setting in which she is placed to convey the artist's interpretation.
Among the other possible variables, the subject can be clothed or nude; indoors or out; standing, seated, reclining; even horse-mounted. Portrait paintings can be of individuals, couples, parents and children, families, or collegial groups. They can be created in various media including oils, watercolor, pen and ink, pencil, charcoal, pastel, and mixed media. Artists may employ a wide-ranging palette of colors, as with Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Mme. Charpentier and her children, 1878 or restrict themselves to mostly white or black, as with Gilbert Stuart's Portrait of George Washington (1796).
Sometimes, the overall size of the portrait is an important consideration. Chuck Close's enormous portraits created for museum display differ greatly from most portraits designed to fit in the home or to travel easily with the client. Frequently, an artist takes into account where the final portrait will hang and the colors and style of the surrounding décor.
Creating a portrait can take considerable time, usually requiring several sittings. Cézanne, on one extreme, insisted on over 100 sittings from his subject. Goya on the other hand, preferred one long day's sitting. The average is about four. Portraitists sometimes present their sitters with a portfolio of drawings or photos from which a sitter would select a preferred pose, as did Sir Joshua Reynolds. Some, such as Hans Holbein the Younger make a drawing of the face, then complete the rest of the painting without the sitter. In the 18th century, it would typically take about one year to deliver a completed portrait to a client.
Managing the sitter's expectations and mood is a serious concern for the portrait artist. As to the faithfulness of the portrait to the sitter's appearance, portraitists are generally consistent in their approach. Clients who sought out Sir Joshua Reynolds knew that they would receive a flattering result, while sitters of Thomas Eakins knew to expect a realistic, unsparing portrait. Some subjects voice strong preferences, others let the artist decide entirely. Oliver Cromwell famously demanded that his portrait show "all these roughnesses, pimples, warts, and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it."
After putting the sitter at ease and encouraging a natural pose, the artist studies his subject, looking for the one facial expression, out of many possibilities, that satisfies his concept of the sitter's essence. The posture of the subject is also carefully considered to reveal the emotional and physical state of the sitter, as is the costume. To keep the sitter engaged and motivated, the skillful artist will often maintain a pleasant demeanor and conversation. Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun advised fellow artists to flatter women and compliment their appearance to gain their cooperation at the sitting.
Central to the successful execution of the portrait is a mastery of human anatomy. Human faces are asymmetrical and skillful portrait artists reproduce this with subtle left-right differences. Artists need to be knowledgeable about the underlying bone and tissue structure to make a convincing portrait.
For complex compositions, the artist may first do a complete pencil, ink, charcoal, or oil sketch which is particularly useful if the sitter's available time is limited. Otherwise, the general form then a rough likeness is sketched out on the canvas in pencil, charcoal, or thin oil. In many cases, the face is completed first, and the rest afterwards. In the studios of many of the great portrait artists, the master would do only the head and hands, while the clothing and background would be completed by the principal apprentices. There were even outside specialists who handled specific items such as drapery and clothing, such as Joseph van Aken Some artists in past times used lay-figures or dolls to help establish and execute the pose and the clothing. The use of symbolic elements placed around the sitter (including signs, household objects, animals, and plants) was often used to encode the painting with the moral or religious character of the subject, or with symbols representing the sitter's occupation, interests, or social status. The background can be totally black and without content or a full scene which places the sitter in their social or recreational milieu.
Self-portraits are usually produced with the help of a mirror, and the finished result is a mirror-image portrait, a reversal of what occurs in a normal portrait when sitter and artist are opposite each other. In a self-portrait, a righted handed artist would appear to be holding a brush in the left hand, unless the artist deliberately corrects the image or uses a second reversing mirror while painting.
Occasionally, the client or the client's family is unhappy with the resulting portrait and the artist is obliged to re-touch it or do it over or withdraw from the commission without being paid, suffering the humiliation of failure. Jacques-Louis David celebrated Portrait of Madame Récamier, wildly popular in exhibitions, was rejected by the sitter, as was John Singer Sargent's notorious Portrait of Madame X. John Trumbull's full-length portrait, General George Washington at Trenton, was rejected by the committee that commissioned it. The famously prickly Gilbert Stuart once replied to a client's dissatisfaction with his wife's portrait by retorting, "You brought me a potato, and you expect a peach!"
A successful portrait, however, can gain the lifelong gratitude of a client. Count Balthazar was so pleased with the portrait Raphael had created of his wife that he told the artist, "Your image…alone can lighten my cares. That image is my delight; I direct my smiles to it, it is my joy."
History
Ancient world