Art UK has updated its cookies policy. By using this website you are agreeing to the use of cookies. To find out more read our updated Use of Cookies policy and our updated Privacy policy.

The Druids: Bringing in the Mistletoe

Photo credit: Glasgow Life Museums

How you can use this image

 

This image is available to be shared and re-used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (CC BY-NC-ND).

You can reproduce this image for non-commercial purposes and you are not able to change or modify it in any way.

Wherever you reproduce the image you must attribute the original creators (acknowledge the original artist(s) and the person/organisation that took the photograph of the work) and any other rights holders.

Review our guidance pages which explain how you can reuse images, how to credit an image and how to find more images in the public domain or with a Creative Commons licence available.

Download

Notes

Add or edit a note on this artwork that only you can see. You can find notes again by going to the ‘Notes’ section of your account.

Here we see the rite of bringing in the sacred mistletoe, and showing a group of Druids or Celtic priests in richly decorated ceremonial robes and insignia proceeding down a steep hillside in solemn procession. The mistletoe, cut from the sacred oak by a golden sickle held by the chief druid, is ceremoniously received by subordinates in white raiment and borne home reverently on the backs of the white bulls. Mistletoe is significant as a plant revered by the druids for its magical as well as medicinal properties. In the 1890s there was a revival of interest in Celtic art and folklore; the influence of this can be seen in the use of complex intertwining patterns on the priests' robes and also on the pattern work of the frame. Henry and Hornel were members of a group of artists called the Glasgow Boys who, at the end of the 19th century, revolutionized Scottish painting.

Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC)

Title

The Druids: Bringing in the Mistletoe

Date

1890

Medium

oil on canvas

Measurements

H 152.4 x W 152.4 cm

Accession number

1534

Acquisition method

purchased, 1922

Work type

Painting

Inscription description

signed/dated

Tags

See a tag that’s incorrect or offensive? Challenge it and notify Art UK.

Help improve Art UK. Tag artworks and verify existing tags by joining the Tagger community.

Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC)

200 Woodhead Road, South Nitshill Industrial Estate, Glasgow G53 7NN Scotland

Not all locations are open to the public. Please contact the gallery or collection for more information
View venue