Discover Welsh art through its buildings

Great Britain has not dominated the European art scene like France, Italy or the Netherlands. However, some English artists, including many Welsh, have produced some remarkable works. The first great painters in England were mostly foreigners and it was only during the Renaissance that local art really developed. The beginnings of the Welsh Renaissance can be traced back to around the beginning of the 15th century, with mainly religious works. The Protestant Reformation led to the destruction of a good number of them, with the exception of a few stained glass windows, as can be admired in the All Saints Church in Gresford or in St David's Cathedral. St. Cadoc's Church in Llancarfan has unique medieval murals depicting St. George and the dragon, a key scene of the time, but of which only a few versions have survived. Plas Mawr's house, built in the 16th century in Conwy, is also one of the few remaining Elizabethan-style buildings still standing in Britain. Several rooms have retained their original plaster decorations and carved wooden panels. Moulded on the ceilings and walls, these decorations include many insignia and symbols. They also incorporate a number of classical themes. Some are painted in bright colours for a striking result.

Welsh art, between national affirmation and English and European influences

During the medieval and post-medieval periods, portraiture was not widespread in Wales, with the nobility travelling to London or the major urban centres of Britain to have their portraits painted. It was not until late in the 19th century that artists began to indulge in portraiture, with painters such as William Roos (1808-1878) and Hugh Hughes (1790-1863). Their paintings can be admired in the National Museum of Wales. Most Welsh artists usually left their region to work in the major cities of the United Kingdom, but the fashion for landscape painting in the 18th century encouraged a certain return to their roots. Among the first important Welsh landscape painters was Richard Wilson (1714-1782), who was greatly influenced by the Flemish landscape school. But it remains difficult for the artists of the time to make a living from their art and develop their practice. It was not until 1865, when the Cardiff School of Art opened, that a local scene could really develop.

Impressionism entered England with James Whistler (1834-1903), an American painter and engraver, who moved to London in 1863. His influence on English painting was to be decisive, as was that of Walter Sickert (1860-1942) and Wilson Steer (1860-1942). The latter founded the New English Art Club in 1886 in response to the Academy's conformism. Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) is famous for his gentle paintings of the Welsh coast, which charmingly recreate its special atmosphere, as with Lady's Cowe, Wales (1897) or On the Cliffs, Langland Bay, Wales (1897). Few Impressionist painters of Welsh origin are still in existence, but some are being rediscovered today, such as Huw Wystan Jones (1820-1888), a close friend of Claude Monet and Eugène Boudin, or Christopher Williams (1873-1934), who painted magnificent scenes of the seaside.

During the inter-war period, Welsh art followed the major European trends, with Ceri Richards (1903-1971) as a representative of surrealism. It wasn't until after the Second World War that a new lease of life was breathed into Wales, with the appearance of new groups, such as the South Wales Group (founded in 1948 and still existing today as The Welsh Group), or the 56 Group Wales, which gave international recognition to local artists. Later, we can also mention the Beca group, which put a lot of emphasis on the construction of a Welsh national consciousness. Created at the end of the 1970s, this group bears witness to the influence of European movements such as Arte Povera, Fluxus and Surrealism on Welsh artists.

Wales, a cradle of photography

Photography was introduced relatively early in Wales, only two years after the invention of the daguerreotype. It was the Reverend Calvert Richard Jones who took the first photograph of the region in March 1841, with the subject of Margam Castle, belonging to his friend Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. A circle of photographers was then established in Swansea, around the Reverend and other local personalities such as John Dillwyn Llewelyn, also a botanist. William Henry Fox Talbot, a great British photographer who invented a method of reproducing several copies of the same image, was in fact the cousin of the latter's wife. Thanks to this connection, John Dillwyn Llewelyn and his family became pioneers of European photography in the 1840s and 1850s.

By the late 1850s, photography became popular and studios became commonplace in the city, with most people having their portraits taken - especially for business cards. A real business card tradition developed at this time, with photographer John Thomas (1838-1905) becoming a reference in the field, although he is best known today for his landscapes and photos of workers. These images, of great quality and precision for the time, teach us a lot about Wales at the time. Several of them can be admired at the National Library of Wales

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Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, photography became more popular, and technological advances made it possible for everyone to take part in this new practice. At the same time, it took a more aesthetic turn and became an art like any other. Documentary and journalistic photography also developed, with photojournalists such as Geoff Charles (1909-2002), who worked in North and Central Wales from the late 1930s onwards and left an impressive collection of photographs.

To view these images, the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth houses over 950,000 photographs related to the region. The collection includes the work of pioneering photographers as well as contemporary practitioners. These are always related to Wales, both in theme and in the origin of the photographer. Founded in 1978, the Ffotogallery is another reference body in this field. It presents exhibitions of old and current photographs and supports contemporary creation. Finally, Aberystwyth is home to thefirst camera obscura, built in 1880 in the park of the castle, then relocated to Constitution Hill for a better view. Disappeared in 1920, it has been reproduced and can be seen again since 1985. It is a must in the city, if you are lucky enough to get there. The massive 14-inch lens makes it one of the largest camera obscura in the world, for a fascinating result (especially since the surrounding coastal landscape is already remarkable in itself).

Welsh contemporary art, a progressive affirmation

Over the last few decades, the contemporary art scene in Wales has been gradually asserting itself independently of the rest of the UK. Since 2003, Wales has, for example, participated in the Venice Biennale with its own pavilion, exhibiting artists such as John Cale (1942-), Bedwyr Williams (1974-) or Cerith Wyn-Evans (1958-). The latter is an internationally renowned filmmaker, video maker and sculptor, and is particularly famous for his installations and mobiles that play with light, consisting for example of neon lights, fire or mirrors.

Today,the city where the bulk of creative activity is concentrated is the capital, but the region has a variety of cultural venues spread across the region, including its Moma (Museum of Modern Art Wales) in Machynlleth, the Plas Glyn y Weddw (an art centre housed in a former house in Llanbedrog), the Oriel Davies Gallery inNewtown, the Riverfront in Newport, the Glynn Vivan Art Gallery in Swansea and the Chapter Art Centre in Cardiff.

The street artists to the assault of Wales

Welsh art can be found not only in museums and galleries, but also on city walls! If Bristol is often considered the capital of street art in the UK, Cardiff also shines in terms of urban culture. The region is home to many well-known artists and collectives, such as Phlegm, originally an illustrator. There is a huge fresco by Phlegm near Cardiff Central Station, immediately recognizable if you've ever come across his work, characterized by black and white and a rich imagination.

An amusing anecdote: a work by the famous Banksy appeared in December 2018, shortly before Christmas, on the corner of a metalworker's garage in the small town of Port Talbot in South Wales. Entitled Season's Greetings, this work is a denunciation of the pollution produced by the polluting industries installed in the region, and depicts a child playing with snowflakes... until it is understood that they are ashes coming out of a chimney! A strong visual message in one of the UK's most polluted cities. The news obviously spread at a frightening speed, the work attracting more than 20,000 visitors, until a rich collector decided to buy it back (from the owner of the wall), promising to exhibit it in the city for at least three years. This little story illustrates the paradox of street art: when an artist becomes famous, it is difficult to let his works flourish in the street. To view Season's Greetings, visit Ty'r Orsaf, a building on the site of a former police station near Port Talbot Parkway railway station.