Illustration |
Darlun |
Fairy illustrations became extremely popular during the Victorian era. Their roots can be traced back to the literary and theatrical influences of Romanticism, and the Shakespeare revival of the 18th century.
Victorian depictions of fairies were also an artistic reaction to the cultural changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution and new scientific developments. Representations of fairies shifted from the menacing and the mischievous, to the magical and the romantic. Vertical Divider
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Tyfodd darluniau o dylwyth teg i fod yn boblogaidd iawn yn ystod oes Fictoria. Gellir olrhain eu gwreiddiau i ddylanwadau llenyddol a theatrig Rhamantiaeth, ac adfywiad Shakespeare yn y 18fed ganrif.
Roedd ffordd y Fictoriaid o bortreadu tylwyth teg hefyd yn adwaith artistig i’r newidiadau diwylliannol yn sgil y Chwyldro Diwydiannol a datblygiadau gwyddonol newydd. Cafodd tylwyth teg eu portreadu fel bod yn hudol a rhamantaidd, yn hytrach na bygythiol a maleisus. |
Our fascination with fairies has continued throughout modern times. Even today the concept of the fairy continues to inspire some of Wales’ most talented illustrators and artists.
Here, we bring attention to three Welsh artists in particular. These influential artists have produced some of the most evocative illustrations of neighbourly ‘devils’ in Welsh folklore. Vertical Divider
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Mae ein diddordeb mewn tylwyth teg wedi parhau drwy gydol y cyfnod modern. Hyd yn oed heddiw mae’r cysyniad o dylwyth teg yn parhau i ysbrydoli rhai o artistiaid a darlunwyr mwyaf talentog Cymru.
Rydym yn tynnu sylw at dri artist Cymraeg yn benodol, yn y fan hon. Mae’r artistiaid dylanwadol hyn wedi cynhyrchu rhai o'r darluniau mwyaf atgofus o 'gythreuliaid’ cymdogol yn llên gwerin Cymru. |
Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones was born in the Rhondda and studied English Literature at Cardiff University before taking courses in lithography, etching and sculpture. In 1975, Shirley was accepted for the postgraduate printing course at Croydon College of Art and Design where she published her first two artists’ books. Shirley established her own studio in 1977, and has since produced over 25 works under the Red Hen Press.
Each of her books explores the relationship between word and image, and her etchings and prints offer an artistic voice to her poems and translations from Old English and Welsh. Her Chwedlau (‘Legends’) was the initial inspiration for this exhibition, as it explores the legends and folklore of Wales, with particular emphasis on the Tylwyth Teg. Vertical Divider
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Ganed Shirley Jones yn y Rhondda a bu’n astudio llenyddiaeth Saesneg ym Mhrifysgol Caerdydd, cyn cymryd cyrsiau mewn lithograffeg, ysgythru a cherfluniaeth. Yn 1975, cafodd Shirley ei derbyn ar y cwrs argraffu ôl-raddedig yng Ngholeg Celf a Dylunio Croydon, lle cyhoeddodd ei ddau llyfr cyntaf fel artist. Sefydlodd Shirley ei stiwdio ei hun yn 1977, ac ers hynny mae hi wedi cynhyrchu 25 darn o waith o dan y Red Hen Press.
Mae pob un o’i llyfrau yn archwilio’r berthynas rhwng gair a delwedd, ac mae ei hysgythriadau a’i phrintiau yn cynnig llais artistig i’w cherddi a chyfieithiadau o'r Hen Saesneg a'r Gymraeg. Ei gwaith, ‘Chwedlau’, oedd yr ysbrydoliaeth wreiddiol ar gyfer yr arddangosfa hon, am ei fod yn archwilio chwedlau a llên gwerin Cymru, gyda phwyslais arbennig ar y Tylwyth Teg. |
‘Chwedlau is my exploration into fifteen centuries of… Welsh legend, myth and folklore… And everywhere, there were the ‘tylwyth teg’, the fair folk – an entity to be reckoned with! A harvest moon for the tylwyth teg is my etching with aquatint on copperplate.’ |
‘Yn Chwedlau, rwy’n archwilio pymtheg canrif o... chwedloniaeth, mythau a llên gwerin Cymraeg... Ac roedd y ‘tylwyth teg’ ym mhobman, y werin deg - criw i’w trin yn ofalus! Lleuad Fedi i’r tylwyth teg yw fy ysgrythiad ag aquatint at blât copr.’ |
Shirley Jones, ‘Harvest Moon’: Chwedlau: page proofs, (Brecon, 2005)
‘Llen Werin', or Folklore, was the final chapter in my artist book, Chwedlau, an exploration into fifteen centuries of Welsh myths, legends and folklore. I thought a fitting image would be of a candle, by which so many of these tales were told. I drew our own candle in its holder, and burnished out this image on a mezzotint copperplate. I left the finished plate overnight, in my studio, protected by a sheet of paper, having decided it needed nothing more added to it. I locked my studio door, as usual, intending to take a print from it next day. But this was when I had a shock: there was now smoke coming from the candle on my mezzotint plate! I hadn't burnished it out, and no one else could have. And I have never known how it came to be there’. |
'Llên Werin’ oedd y bennod olaf yn fy llyfr artist, Chwedlau, sy’n archwilio pymtheg canrif o fythau, chwedlau a llên gwerin Cymraeg. Teimlais y byddai cannwyll yn ddelwedd addas, am mai yng ngolau cannwyll yr adroddwyd cymaint o’r straeon hyn. Tynnais lun ein canhwyllbren ni, a llathru’r ddelwedd hon ar blât copor mesotint. Gadewais y plât gorffenedig dros nos, yn fy stiwdio, gyda darn o bapur i’w warchod, ar ôl penderfynu nad oedd angen ychwanegu rhagor ato. Cloais ddrws fy stiwdio, fel arfer, gyda’r bwriad o gymryd print ohono’r diwrnod canlynol. Dyma pan gefais sioc: erbyn hyn, roedd mwg yn dod o’r gannwyll ar fy mhlât mesonit! Nid oeddwn wedi’i lathru, ac ni fyddai unrhyw un arall wedi gallu gwneud hynny. I’r dydd, nid wyf yn gwybod sut y daeth i fod yno’. |
Shirley Jones, ‘Llên Werin’: Chwedlau: page proofs, (Brecon, 2005).
T. H. Thomas (1839-1915)
Thomas Henry Thomas was a Welsh artist with a wide range of interests including botany, geology, and archaeology. He became one of the driving forces behind the creation of the National Museum of Wales.
Born in Pontypool, he studied at Bristol School of Art as well as the Royal Academy before travelling to Paris and Rome. He returned to London in 1861 where he specialised in portraiture and book illustration, before settling in Cardiff in 1866 following the death of his father. Thomas worked as an illustrator for the Graphic – a weekly illustrated newspaper first published in 1869. Over the course of his life, he produced over 1,000 prints, drawings and watercolours, bequeathed to the National Museum in 1915. Among their unique collection are examples of the fairy illustrations he created for Wirt Sikes’ book on Welsh folklore, published in 1880. Vertical Divider
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Artist Cymraeg oedd Thomas Henry Thomas, gydag amrywiaeth eang o ddiddordebau, yn cynnwys botaneg, daeareg, ac archaeoleg. Daeth yn un o'r sbardunau y tu ôl i greu Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Cymru.
Fe'i anwyd ym Mhont-y-pŵl, astudiodd yn Ysgol Gelf Bryste yn ogystal â'r Academi Frenhinol, cyn teithio i Baris a Rhufain. Dychwelodd i Lundain yn 1861 lle bu'n arbenigo mewn portreadau a darlunio llyfrau, cyn ymgartrefu yng Nghaerdydd yn 1866 yn dilyn marwolaeth ei dad. Gweithiodd Thomas fel darlunydd ar gyfer y Graphic – papur newydd wythnosol darluniedig, a gyhoeddwyd gyntaf yn 1869. Yn ystod ei fywyd, cynhyrchodd dros 1,000 o brintiau, darluniau a lluniau dyfrlliw, a chawsant eu cymynroddi i'r Amgueddfa Genedlaethol yn 1915. Ymhlith eu casgliad unigryw y mae enghreifftiau o’r darluniau o dylwyth teg a grewyd ganddo ar gyfer llyfr Wirt Sikes ar lên gwerin Cymru, a gyhoeddwyd yn 1880. |
Illustrated by T. H. Thomas, this is Thomas’ depiction of the tale of Shui Rhys, a poor farmer’s daughter from Cardiganshire, who never returned after joining the fairies in their revelry. |
Yn cynnwys darluniau gan T. H. Thomas, dyma bortread Thomas o stori Shui Rhys, merch fferm dlawd o Geredigion, wnaeth byth ddychwelyd ar ôl ymuno â’r tylwyth teg yn eu miri. |
Wirt Sikes, British Goblins: Welsh folklore, fairy mythology, legends and traditions, (London, 1880)
Illustration by T. H. Thomas of the story of Jennet, who woke up to discover the fairies had stolen her baby. From Wirt Sikes, British Goblins, (London, 1880). |
Darlun gan gan T. H. Thomas o stori Jennet, wnaeth ddeffro i ddarganfod bod y tylwyth teg wedi dwyn ei babi. O Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (Llundain, 1880). |
‘Jennet Francis struggles with the fairies for her baby’.
‘Plucked from the fairy circle’.
Illustration by T. H. Thomas of the tale of Iago, who was lost for a year after entering a fairy circle. From Wirt Sikes, British Goblins, (London, 1880).
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Darlun gan T. H. Thomas o stori Iago, a gollwyd am flwyddyn ar ôl mynd i gylch tylwyth teg. O Wirt Sikes, British Goblins (Llundain, 1880).
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Margaret Lindsay Williams (1888–1960)
Margaret Lindsay Williams is best known for her portraiture. Born in Cardiff in 1888, her artistic talent was evident at an early age. In 1902, she enrolled at Cardiff Art School where she was awarded the Cardiff Art School Gold Medal for art in 1904.
In 1906, she enrolled at the Royal Academy, winning her first silver medal for a figure from life in 1908. At the age of 23, she became the youngest ever student to win the Academy’s Gold Medal in art, and the first from Wales. Williams was denied the opportunity to serve as an Official War Artist during the First World War and turned her talents to illustrating one of Wales’ most famous fairy legends, Llyn y Fan Fach, for the book Gwlad fy Nhadau: Rhodd Cymru i’w Byddin, published on behalf of the National Fund for Welsh Troops in 1915. |
Mae Margaret Lindsay yn fwyaf adnabyddus am ei phortreadau. Fe'i ganed yng Nghaerdydd yn 1888, ac roedd ei thalent artistig yn amlwg o oed cynnar. Yn 1902, ymrestrodd yn Ysgol Celf Caerdydd a dyfarnwyd Medal Aur Ysgol Celf Caerdydd am gelfyddyd iddi yn 1904.
Yn 1906, ymrestrodd yn yr Academi Frenhinol, gan ennill ei medal arian gyntaf am ffigur o fywyd yn 1908. Yn 23 oed, hi oedd y myfyriwr ieuengaf erioed i ennill Medal Aur yr Academi ym maes celf, a’r cyntaf o Gymru. Gwadwyd y cyfle i Williams fod yn Artist Rhyfel Swyddogol yn ystod y Rhyfel Byd Cyntaf. Yn hytrach, trodd ei thalentau i ddarlunio un o chwedlau tylwyth teg enwocaf Cymru, Llyn y Fan Fach, ar gyfer y llyfr Gwlad fy Nhadau: Rhodd Cymru i'w Byddin, a gyhoeddwyd ar ran y Gronfa Genedlaethol er Milwyr Cymru yn 1915. |
‘He saw a girl sitting on the lake’s smooth surface’
Illustration by Margaret Lindsay Williams, from William Rees, Chwedl Llyn y Fan (Liverpool, 1917).
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Darlun gan Margaret Lindsay Williams, William Rees, Chwedl Llyn y Fan (Lerpwl, 1917).
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‘Sinking from sight beneath the waters’.
Illustration by Margaret Lindsay Williams, from William Rees, Chwedl Llyn y Fan (Liverpool, 1917).
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Darlun gan Margaret Lindsay Williams, William Rees, Chwedl Llyn y Fan (Lerpwl, 1917).
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