Melbourne, AU – The Ian Potter Centre at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne presents “Eugene von Guérard: Nature Revealed” from 16 April – 7 August 2011. Eugene von Guérard (1811–1901) is arguably Australia’s, and certainly Victoria’s, most important colonial landscape painter. Born in Vienna and trained as a painter in the European art centres of Rome, Naples and Düsseldorf; von Guérard migrated to Australia in 1852. Von Guérard’s meticulous landscapes are remarkable in their detail and much valued for their depiction of Australian and particularly, Victorian, landscapes of the mid-1800s.
This exhibition demonstrates how von Guerard’s artistic endeavours in Australia were informed by his interest in the geography, geology and vegetation of the Australian ‘New World’. His representations of the forests of Gippsland and the Otways, the crater lakes of Victoria’s volcanic Western District and the peaks of the Kosciuszko plateau hold important environmental significance today. The work of von Guérard has not been the subject of a dedicated exhibition since 1980. “Eugene von Guérard: Nature Revealed” features over 150 works, including many of von Guérard’s beloved iconic landscapes, as well as several beautifully illustrated sketch books, and some never-before-seen paintings. Through his detailed brushstrokes and breathtaking compositions, visitors can explore the magnificent Australian, New Zealand and European landscapes he captured on his expeditions around the world.
Born in Vienna, von Guerard toured Italy with his father (a painter of miniatures at the court of Emperor Francis I of Austria) from 1826, and between 1830 and 1832 resided in Rome, where he became involved with the Nazarenes, a group of German expatriate artists. From 1849 to 1854 he studied landscape painting at the Düsseldorf Academy, and travelled widely. Von Guerard’s personal artistic style was formed by the heritage of Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin and Salvator Rosa, while at the Düsseldorf Academy he was inspired by the German Romantic landscape tradition exemplified by the art of Caspar David Friedrich, which, like the Nazarenes, attempted to link man and God through nature. In 1852 von Guerard arrived in Victoria, Australia, determined to try his luck on the Victorian goldfields. As a gold-digger he was unsuccessful, but he did produce a large number of intimate studies of goldfields life, quite different from the deliberately awe-inspiring landscapes for which he was later to become famous. Realising that there were opportunities for an artist in Australia, he abandoned the diggings and was soon undertaking lucrative commissions recording the dwellings and properties of wealthy pastoralists. By the early 1860s von Guerard was recognised as the foremost landscape artist in the colonies, touring Southeast Australia and New Zealand in pursuit of the sublime and the picturesque.
He is most known for the wilderness paintings produced during this time, which are remarkable for their shadowy lighting and fastidious detail. Indeed, his view of Tower Hill in South Western Victoria was used as a botanical template over a century later when the land, which had been laid waste and polluted by agriculture, was systematically reclaimed, forested with native flora and made a state park. The scientific accuracy of such work has led to a reassessment of von Guerard’s approach to wilderness painting, and historians believe it likely that the landscapist was strongly influenced by the environmental theories of the leading scientist Alexander von Humboldt. In 1866 his “Valley of the Mitta Mitta” was presented to the national gallery at Melbourne; in 1870 the trustees purchased his “Mount Kosciusko”. In 1870 von Guerard was appointed the first Master of the School of Painting at the National Gallery of Victoria, where he was to influence the training of artists for the next 11 years. His reputation, high at the beginning of this period, had faded somewhat towards the end because of his rigid adherence to picturesque subject matter and detailed treatment in the face of the rise of the more intimate Heidelberg School style. Amongst his pupils were Frederick McCubbin and Tom Roberts. Von Guerard retired from his position at the National Gallery School at the end of 1881 and departed for Europe in January 1882. In 1891 his wife died. Two years later, he lost his investments in the Australian bank crash and he lived in poverty until his death in Chelsea, London, on 17 April 1901.
The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) is an art gallery and museum in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest and the largest public art gallery in Australia. The main gallery is located in St Kilda Road, in the heart of the Melbourne Arts Precinct of Southbank, with a branch gallery at Federation Square. The St Kilda Road Gallery, designed by Sir Roy Grounds, opened in 1968 and was refubished and extended by Mario Bellini in 2003. In December 2003, the Ian Potter Centre at the NGV Australia at Federation Square, designed by LAB Architecture Studio opened to host the NGV’s collection of Australian art. At the time that the gallery opened, Victoria was an independent colony for just ten years, but in the wake of the Victorian gold rush, it was easily the richest part of Australia, and Melbourne the largest city. Generous gifts from wealthy citizens, notably industrialist Alfred Felton, made it possible for the National Gallery to start purchasing large collections of overseas works from both old and modern masters. It currently holds over 65,000 works of art.
The Ian Potter Centre at the NGV Australia is the world’s first major gallery dedicated exclusively to Australian art. It is a spectacular showcase comprising over 20 galleries housed within a landmark architectural complex. NGV Australia presents the history of Australian art from the Colonial period and the Heidelberg School through to contemporary art, and includes photography, prints and drawings, fashion and textiles, decorative arts, and a suite of galleries dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. With special exhibitions and educational programs and new perspectives of the city through its glass matrix, NGV Australia is more than a great place to view art, a completely fresh approach that encourages people from all walks of life to enjoy the world of art. Visit the museum’s website at … http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au
Source: Press Notice to editor (reply to: Jemma Altmeier <Jemma.Altmeier@ngv.vic.gov.au>) + museum website+wikipedia (artists biog)+ google image search – byline invented