Irish Artists in Brittany: The Celtic Connection That Shaped Modern Irish Art

For more than a century, the rugged shores of Brittany have drawn Irish artists with an almost magnetic pull. Though separated by the sea, Ireland and Brittany share a cultural heartbeat: Celtic ancestry, Atlantic weather, fishing villages shaped by faith and hardship, and a landscape where tradition still whispers through daily life.

Between the late 1800s and early 1900s, several Irish painters travelled to this French coastal region and created some of the most intimate, evocative works of their careers. Their paintings tell a story of connection across borders—of two cultures that recognised themselves in one another.

Today, BuyIrishArt.com brings these masterpieces to a new generation through museum-quality reproductions. Below is a journey through these remarkable works and the artists who saw in Brittany not a foreign land but a familiar echo of home.

Aloysius O’Kelly: Moments of Quiet Human Truth

Interior of a Church in Brittany

In this atmospheric study, Aloysius O’Kelly captures a Breton woman in prayer inside a stone chapel—a scene that could just as easily be found in rural Ireland. The filtered light, carved wood, and quiet dignity reflect the shared devotional life of Celtic communities.

Print available:  Interior of a Church in Brittany – Museum-Quality Art Print

Breton Girls on a Beach

This gentle coastal scene shows young girls in traditional dress gathered at the shoreline, their white coifs catching the light. O’Kelly paints them with warmth and empathy, celebrating the innocence and ritual of daily life by the sea.

Print available:  Breton Girls on a Beach – Museum-Quality Art Print

Roderic O’Conor: Bold Colour and Modernist Energy

Breton Boy (in Profile)

Roderic O’Conor’s time in Pont-Aven exposed him to Gauguin, Symbolism, and the European avant-garde. This portrait of a young Breton boy—painted with sculptural outlines and expressive colour—marks a turning point in Irish modernism and shows how Brittany helped reshape his vision.

Print available:  Breton Boy (in Profile) – Premium Art Print

Flowers, Bottle and Two Jugs

In this still life, O’Conor transforms everyday objects into a modernist composition rich with texture and tonal contrast. Bold brushwork, confident colour, and finely balanced forms reveal his deep engagement with continental painting while remaining rooted in a distinctly Irish sensibility.

Print available:  Flowers, Bottle and Two Jugs – Premium Art Print

Helen Mabel Trevor: Human Stories of the Breton Coast

An Interior of a Breton Cottage

Helen Mabel Trevor immersed herself in the fishing community of Douarnenez, painting domestic interiors with rare authenticity. This warm, intimate scene shows a woman absorbed in her daily tasks, bathed in natural coastal light that feels instantly familiar to Irish viewers. It could easily be a cottage in Mayo, Kerry, or Waterford.

Print available:  An Interior of a Breton Cottage – Museum-Quality Art Print

The Fisherman’s Mother

The Fisherman’s Mother is Trevor’s Breton masterpiece. An elderly woman sits with rosary beads wrapped around her walking stick, her face lined with strength and faith. Painted in 1892, the work was inspired by life in Douarnenez, where the sitter’s five fisherman sons famously visited Trevor’s studio to see the portrait of their mother. It is a moving tribute to coastal resilience and maternal endurance.

Print available:  The Fisherman’s Mother – Museum-Quality Art Print