Y Tywysogion

Prosiect cyffrous am ein tywysogion Portread Ivor Davies o Hywel Dda Cynllun unigryw ar deledu, print, gwefannau ac arddangosfa i gofnodi hanes ein tywysogion. S4C a'r Academi Frenhinol Gymreig sy'n cyd-lynu'r prosiect gan un o artistiaid mwyaf blaenllaw Cymru, Ivor Davies. Fe fydd cyfres "Tywysogion" ar y sgrîn ar ddiwedd y mis. Cafodd lluniau'r artist ar gyfer y gyfres eu dadorchuddio yn oriel Frenhinol y Cambrian yng Nghonwy ddydd Gwener. Mae llyfr wedi ei gyhoeddi i gydfynd â'r cyfan. Mae'r gyfres yn olrhain y cyfnod o farwolaeth Hywel Dda yn 950 at gyfnod Owain Glyndwr yn y 15fed ganrif. Yn ogystal â rhaglen deledu i oedolion fe fydd 'na gyfresi wedi eu hanelu at blant. Ysbrydolaeth Mae darluniau'r artist o Benarth ger Caerdydd yn portreadu ein tywysogion a'i fwriad yw cyfleu cymeriad pob tywysog a chyfleu hanes ymhob llun. Cafodd Davies ei ysbrydoli gan farddoniaeth Cymru.

Cafodd Ivor Davies ei ysbrydoli gan farddoniaeth Cymru "Fe ddaeth y cwmni ataf i ddechrau gyda'r bwriad o greu portread siarcol o'r hyn y gallasai'r tywysogion edrych," meddai'r artist 71 oed. "Ond roeddwn yn awyddus i weithio ar raddfa fwy a chael cyfle i mi ddehongli'r cymeriadau. "Mae wedi bod yn fwriad gen i wneud hyn ers blynyddoedd ac roedd y comisiwn yma yn gyfle arbennig. Gweledigaeth "Wrth ddatblygu'r prosiect fe ddaeth yn amlwg y gallai'r saith tywysog cyntaf gynrychioli lliw gwahanol yn yr enfys.

Darlun Ivor Davies o Owain Glyndwr "O gymysgu'r lliwiau fe gewch wyn ac felly dyna pam mai mewn gwyn yn bennaf y mae Glyndwr - a chyfleu'r weledigaeth i'r dyfodol." Dr Richard Wyn Jones fydd yn cyflwyno'r gyfres fydd yn datgelu bod y tywysogion - a'r gwragedd oedd yn gefn iddynt - yn chwarae gemau gwleidyddol clyfar ac yn meddu ar weledigaeth Ewropeaidd ymhell y tu hwnt i'w tywysogaethau. Mae'r gyfres deledu yn defnyddio cymysgedd o actorion, barddoniaeth, a'r dechnoleg ddiweddara i ail greu cartrefi'r tywysogion - neu o leia y dechnoleg ddiweddara wedi'i chyfuno a thechnegau archaeoleg. Mae gwaith Davies yn drawiadol ac ar ôl gorffen yng Nghonwy, fe fydd yr arddangosfa yn symud i Foncath yng Ngheredigion ganol mis Chwefror, ac yna i Oriel Kooywood yng Nghaerdydd fis Mawrth. Mae'r arddangosfa ar agor i'r cyhoedd o ddydd Sadwrn ymlaen - ond mae pedwar o'r wyth darlun eisoes wedi eu gwerthu. Tywysogion, Ffilmiau'r Bont i S4C, nos Fawrth Ionawr 30.

1 . 2
1=Hywel Dda, 2=Owain Glyndwr


(quoted from http://news.bbc.co.uk/welsh/hi/newsid_6280000/newsid_6280500/6280581.stm)

The Tywysogion production and research team employed innovative technology and turned to Welsh poetry and other documents to piece together some of the key historical sites in a series spanning more than 400 years.

Welsh poetry also helped inspire the artist Ivor Davies after he accepted a commission to portray eight of Wales' great medieval princes.

Davies, who works from his Old Granary studio at Penarth, near Cardiff, is well known for his bold use of colours in his paintings and materials. These are evident among his interpretations of the eight princes he depicts - Hywel Dda (ap Cadell) who died in 950, Gruffudd ap Cynan (1055-1137), Owain Gwynedd (ap Gruffudd) (1100-1170), Lord Rhys (Rhys ap Gruffudd) (1132-1197), Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn ap Iorwerth) (1173-1240), Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ('the Last') (1225-1282) and Owain Glyndr (1354-1416).

'The production company first approached me with a view of commissioning a series of portraits drawn in charcoal to portray how the princes may have looked,' says 71-year-old Davies, a former art lecturer who has been a full-time artist for the past 17 years.
'However, I was keen to work on larger-scale portraits on canvas which would give me more room for interpretation.
'I've always wanted to portray the Welsh princes, so this commission was a great opportunity.
'As the project developed, each one of the first seven princes seemed to correspond to a different colour of the rainbow.
'If you mix the colours of the rainbow together, they turn white and so the final prince, Owain Glyndr is mainly white, which conveys vision and hope for the future.'

(quoted from http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0900entertainment/0050artsnews/tm_headline=a-right-royal-display&method=full&objectid=18534953&siteid=50082-name_page.html) and www /go/wales/northwest/sites/entertainment/pages/tvandradio.shtml/ext/_auto/-/http://www.s4c.co.uk/tywysogion

The series on Wales' medieval princes this week looks at the life of Irish-born Gruffudd ap Cynan (1055-1137), who was once a pirate on the Irish Sea and who is mentioned in Viking poetry.
Gruffudd became ruler of Gwynedd after an important battle at Aberlleiniog castle on Anglesey. The forces of Hugh, Earl of Shrewsbury and the Earl of Chester were overcome by Gruffudd's army and his Viking allies. Hugh was killed by King Magnus of Norway and the battle is referred to in Viking verse.
"Gruffudd is a fascinating character," says series presenter and political analyst, Dr Richard Wyn Jones. "What makes his story even more fascinating is that he seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth for ten years of his life. There's no mention of him anywhere. But then he reappears and becomes a strong leader, determined to safeguard Gwynedd and Anglesey from Norman invasion."
Gruffudd enjoyed a long life and was buried in Bangor, on the site where the city's cathedral now stands. He died knowing his son Owain would carry on his legacy.
His biography was written about 20 years after his death. Although originally written in Latin, only the Welsh translation remains - the only biography of any of the Welsh princes to have survived.

(quoted from http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/entertainment/pages/tvandradio.shtml)