The Druids: Bringing in the Mistletoe

Image credit: Glasgow Life Museums

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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

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Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC)

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

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