|
|
a selection of poems by Dafydd ap Gwilym
images by John Elwyn
1993
62pp
265 x 173mm (10.4 x 6.9in)
£75
250 copies
signed by the artist
|
|
We have a life-long love for the mystical, pastoral school of
painting that flowered so richly in Samuel Palmer's Valley of
Vision and which erupted again in the neo-romantic paintings and
book illustrations of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. For years we had
enjoyed the energy of John Elwyn's neo-romantic vision in painting
and knew that he also enjoyed the illustration of books. There
was, however, a particularly exciting moment when we encountered
some of his early drawings at the same time as we were reading
the poetry of Dafydd ap Gwilym. We knew that we had to try to
link the two. It transpired that John Elwyn did indeed have a
great love for the Welsh poet - whom he read in Welsh - and was
eager to work on images that reflected the timelessness of the
poetic subjects of love and the natural world, to bridge the gap
from mediaeval words to twentieth century images. The song thrush,
the skylark, and the cuckoo; the wind as one of many messengers
of love, the seasons and, above all, the 'leafy hut' which the
poet builds for meetings with his love - are described in immediate
but timeless words by the poet in the 1350s and echoed by the
artist in the late twentieth century. Little seems to change!
|
|
 |
