Art Gallery NSW: Australian Modern Art — Part 3 Sensuality
Blessed with fertile land, Australians cultivated an abundant life of materialistic pleasure. Such prosperous life greatly influenced Australian modern artists and their works. Many artists regarded that the voluptuous and muscular forms of Australians reflected the rich country’s power. Thus, they celebrated the physical beauty of Australians by preserving them in their paintings. In their works, they often related sensuality with procreation and nurture, linking back to the role of fecund Australian land to settlers. To capture the nourished beauty, they incorporated techniques from European classical art and avant-garde.
Charles Meere was one of a group of Sydney artists whose work depicted Australian life during the inter-war period and modernized classical artistic traditions. Yet, he painted works of neo-classical style, most notably Atalanta’s Eclipse, which shows a running race scene between Atalanta and Melanion. Contrasting to other suitors who competed with the huntress to marry her, Melanion won the race by distracting her with three golden apples.
The artist contributed to cultivating Australian modern art by painting works inspired by the art nouveau of the European avant-garde. One of his art deco masterpieces is Australian Beach Pattern, which was painted during the interwar period. Though full of enigma, the masterpiece is interpreted as a celebration of a healthy young nation’s beach culture and a glorification of heroic racial purity.
Thank you for reading the shortened version of the article. It is the last article of modern 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 Modern Art — Part 3 Sensuality
Australian Art: from Classical Antiquity to Contemporary Emerging Talents
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