Understanding Celtic Art Past and Present, Part 2 of 2

After a period of decline, the Celtic Revival of the 19th and 20th centuries saw a resurgence of interest in Celtic culture through several movements across many fields in Northwest European countries. The Revival was especially significant in Ireland, where it was frequently referred to as the Irish Revival.

By the 1840s, the replication of Celtic brooches and other metalwork had become popular in a number of places, including Dublin, Edinburgh, and London. By the turn of the 20th century, the Celtic Revival had made its way to Chicago, USA, which had a large Irish American population. There neo-Celtic patterns appeared in architecture, in the decorative arts, and in book designs. By the 1980s, a new Celtic Revival had begun and has since become a global phenomenon, reaching well beyond Old-World Celtic countries.

In 2017, June 9 was designated as the International Day of Celtic Art by a group of modern Celtic artists and enthusiasts, with the aim of raising public awareness about Celtic history and celebrating the work of Celtic artists and craftspersons through exhibitions, demonstrations, promotions, and workshops. “The Celtic tradition expresses a wealth of wisdom and understanding of the natural world - of plants and animals, and also the inner world of active imagination and our psyche.”

Let’s now take a closer look at the main Celtic designs, namely, spirals, interlace, and knots. Spiral designs may be created from single, double, triple or quadruple swirls, which are usually joined to one another in either an "S-" or a "C-" shaped arrangement. It has diverse meanings, such as the cycle of life - life, death, and rebirth, the Christian Trinity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as well as the three components of time - the past, present, and future. Celtic interlace has two main types; knotwork and zoomorphs.

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and its social as well as economic impacts adversely affecting many people’s mental health, art therapy, such as coloring can help to overcome the challenges involved with long periods of isolation. As Celtic coloring books are becoming more popular, the ancient Celtic art continues to positively influence and enrich people’s hearts and minds in this modern time.