In Focus: Adult Learning

A painting showing the waterfall at Powerscourt Estate, Co. Wicklow through trees. In the left foreground of the painting, we can see some figures who are dwarfed by the grandeur of the waterfall.
George Barret (1728/32-1784), View of Powerscourt Waterfall, c.1760

Articles linking artworks and key art historical texts

Delve deeper into some of the works in our collection with our In Focus series of texts. The In Focus series from our Education team links works from our collection with key art historical, theoretical or philosophical texts. Aimed especially at third-level students, but accessible to all, this series aims to support in-depth engagement with our collection and the selected texts.

Stormy seascape painting with ship against a large rock and dark stormy clouds in the sky

In Focus: The Sublime in Art

Here we consider the philosopher and statesman Edmund Burke’s (1729-1797) writings on the sublime while looking at supporting paintings in our collection. Read The Sublime in Art

Abstract composition of shapes in a frame shaped like an altarpiece

In Focus: Cubism

This post considers the art movement Cubism through excerpts from Cubism, by Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger, and linking it with works from our collection by Mainie Jellett and Juan Gris. Read Cubism

Dramatic oil painting crowded with people, with a man in armour and a woman at centre being married by a priest.

In Focus: The Emancipation of the Spectator

In this post, we look at The Marriage of Strongbow and Aoife by Daniel Maclise while considering viewers of art as active participants. This discussion is supported by Jacques Rancière’s essay The Emancipated Spectator. Read The Emancipation of the Spectator

Impressionistic landscape painting of a river, trees on the riverbank, buildings on the horizon and a white sailboat.

In Focus: The flâneur

In this post, we consider Claude Monet’s fishing boat, which he used as a floating studio, in the context of the flâneur, a wandering observer of urban spaces. The discussion is supported by writings from Walter Benjamin's The Arcades Project. Read The Flaneur

Two naked figures set looking at a television set in front of them, which illuminates them

In Focus: Summer Shadows, Summer Dreams

In this post, we consider George Wallace's series of prints, Summer Shadows, Summer Dreams in the context of Malcolm McLuhan's The Medium is the Message. Read Summer Shadows, Summer Dreams

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