This module aims to give students an introduction to Irish painting from 1640 to 1940. The work of Irish painters both at home and abroad will be examined and comparisons will be made with contemporary work in a European context. The early part of the course will explore 17th and early 18th century portraiture; followed by a review of the pupils of the Dublin Society Schools; Irish 18th c. landscape painters; the subject painting of James Barry, Irish Romanticism, Realism and the so called Irish Impressionists. The course will end with early 20th c. artists, like William Orpen, the Modernist painter Mainie Jellett and will conclude by looking at the work of Jack Yeats. Art history majors may also take this module in conjunction with its companion seminar module AH20020 Studies in Irish Painting (not open to minors or as a free elective choice).

On completion of this module students should be able to: understand the influences from abroad on native Irish painters; have a good grasp of Irish painters in a historical context; have a good knowledge of Irish portraiture, landscape and subject painting; identify works by Irish painters. These outcomes are subject to change.