Art Gallery NSW: Australian Classical Art 1800–1900
Australian Classical Paintings at Art Gallery NSW
Just as European classical masterpieces are in museums of Europe, Australian classical masterpieces are in Art Gallery NSW, making them a must-see for visitors. Thus, in Australia’s national museum, Australian classical paintings are certainly greater in importance than European classical paintings. The museum has a large collection of significant Australian masterpieces painted by classical artists.
Australian classical paintings portray scenes of Australia and Europe by following Greek and Roman ideas and techniques. Active Australian classical artists had diverse geographical backgrounds. They grew up and had art education either in Europe or Australia.
Unlike Art Gallery NSW’s European classical art, Australian classical art lacks paintings of narrative subjects. Selected masterpieces shows Australian nature, the arduous lives of the Australian working class, the sumptuous lives of privileged Europeans, and voluptuous feminine beauty.
Nature of Australia
Australia is renowned for its scenic and unpolluted nature. It ranks as one of the best in the world. Captivated by the charms of Australia’s nature, artists passionately painted the land and sea of the beautiful land. Portrayed nature shows Australians’ common sense of the nature of Australia. The nature is too immense and sublime that it is beyond human grasp and imagination. Thus, people are minuscule compared to mighty nature. Accordingly, Australian classical art portrays nature as vast and people and traces of civilization as small.
The artist painted this en-plein air(outdoor painting) at Coogee Beach, Sydney. The impressive beach consists of a glistening turquoise sea with bleached white sand and sun-kissed seaside vegetation. The beach is a well-known tourist attraction in the present day. The artist painted the beach with an impressionist technique, which delineates the subject by painting shades of light instead of accurate depiction. his technique is evocative of the blazing sun in tropical northern Australia.
Arduous Lives of the Working Class in Australia
The divine land of Australia gives life and breeds myriad kinds of flora and fauna. the fertile land is blessed with a wide variety of climates from the warm tropical north to the cooler southern region. Accordingly, there’s little that the land can’t grow or produce. The majority of European descendants’ duty was to process the resources from nature into consumable commodities. Australian classical artists, informed about the importance of labor, captured various angles of the lives of the Australian working class.
The social realist painting shows a weary Australian miner seated with the Labor Party newspaper after rallying for demanding an increase in the minimum wage. The British National Coal Strike of 1912, in which coal miners fought to obtain a minimum wage, inspired similar campaigns across Australia and New Zealand. The artist drew on these turbulent times in this portrayal of a dispirited miner.
Sumptuous Lives of Privileged Europeans
In the early 20th century, European artists active in Australia had affluent family backgrounds, as becoming an artist demanded high financial costs for education and art material. So since childhood, the artists were well acquainted with privileged and materialistic life. They traveled to various countries in Europe extensively. After their art education in Melbourne and Sydney, they traveled to Europe and painted admired lives of wealthy Europeans, scenes that they are familiar with. Consequently, some artists left masterpieces to be preserved as timeless images of European high life. They received recognition in European art institutions including Paris Salon and Royal Academy, London.
The setting of masterpiece takes place at outdoors in Trouville, a luxury beach resort in northern France. The artist positions the viewer as if peering down at the elegant boating party and immerses us in a sumptuous, genteel world of vibrant colors, luscious fabric textures, and a warm summer atmosphere.
Voluptuous Feminine Beauty
Rich in natural resources, colonized Australia eventually became wealthy. The abundant life of materialistic pleasure in Australia greatly influenced Australian classical artists. As a result, they choose women of voluptuous beauty as subjects to represent bountiful life in Australia. Plump depiction of fabric and flesh is a common characteristic of Australian classical painting featuring feminine beauty.
Thank you for reading the shortened version of the article. It is the second article of classical art chapter in the comprehensive study on Australian Art. The study is divided into three chapters according to era: classical, modern and contemporary. To read the complete article, and view the complete list of the articles within the study, please direct to the linked articles.
Art Gallery NSW: Australian Classical Art 1800–1900
Australian Art: from Classical Antiquity to Contemporary Emerging Talents
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