Art Gallery NSW: Australian Modern Art — Part 2 Modern Life

Modern Life

In the 20th century, cities were socially, culturally, and physically transformed by the dynamics of modernization. In the rising structures of the metropolis, people adapted to new conditions and improved their quality of life. Aspiring artists flocked to cities, especially Sydney, as they were primary sites for the encounter with modernity and diverse artistic critiques. Captivated by unprecedented changes brought by modernization, artists depicted urbanized environments and people living in the novel modern society with keen insight. Artists invented original techniques that reflect the changes in society based on their study of European classical art and avant-garde ideas and techniques.

Modern Life: People

Arthur Murch, The aeroplane, 1929-1930,

Oil and egg tempera on canvas on board

People in the painting gaze toward an unseen aeroplane flying overhead in a local backyard. The setting directly reveals a beautified representation of rural Australia. The placement of domesticated animals in the composition further contributes to the painting's overall rustic sentiment. High contrast in tonal range and pastel color scheme is reminiscent of the strong sunlight of northern Australia.
The tension expressed in people's faces is caused by seeing the flying vehicle. People in the countryside, who are used to the traditional way of living, are confused and surprised by the encounter with modern technology that invented the aeroplane. Through the depicted collision between tradition and modernity, the artwork invokes the monumentality of the changing world.

 Weaver Hawkins, Morning underground, 1922, Oil on canvas

Instead of showing a crowded interior of Sydney's metro train, the painting portrays commuters traveling on the London Underground. Though the two cities are distant, both of them went through a similar process of urbanization. The artist shows the consequence of the process by illustrating the claustrophobic confines of modern living.
The portrayal of the crowded Underground is relatively flat and flourished. This stylistic depiction is derived from studying artworks of modern masters such as Cézanne, Gauguin, Matisse, and van Gogh. Similar to European avant-garde artists, Australian artists sought innovative techniques for capturing a subject to reconcile with industrial expansion.

Thea Proctor, The bay, 1927, Watercolor

Slender and elegant women sit on a sofa with their fans flipped open. The background shows an urbanized port of Sydney. The image is an idealized representation of the modern lifestyle in Sydney. One of the most influential modern artists, Proctor lived in London for 18 years and returned to Sydney in 1921. The refined composition and forms of her works were likely inspired by her life in London.

Modern Life: Setting

Tempe Manning, Kingsclere, 52 Macleay Street,

1919, Oil on board

As urbanization transformed Sydney rapidly, engineering spectacle towered up high-rise buildings. In the painting, the artist juxtaposes old low-rise buildings in the midground and the towering presence of Kingsclere in the background. Instead of depicting Sydney's grand skyline, the artist presents her intimate vision of the new everyday experiences and vistas of her modern world and the burgeoning metropolis. 

Opalescent and speckled color usage is a notable technique in her paintings. Though the brush strokes are relatively large, the technique is similar to the Pointillism of European modern art. The realistic rendering of the subject shows the traditional academic training she received while she was in Paris from 1912 to 1914. After returning to Sydney, she moved onto her avant-garde phase by devising the speckled color technique.

Margaret Preston, (left) Implement blue, 1927, Oil on canvas

(right) Western Australian gum blossom, 1928, Oil on canvas

Margaret Preston is regarded as a master of Australian modern art. Both of the presented paintings show two of her still lives. Believing that the best subjects for modern art were to be found in everyday life, she painted a large number of still-life subjects. Yet, the artist deliberately selected subjects as her commitment was to create modern art demonstrating the beauty of Australia. Her selection of Western Australian gum blossoms is especially smart, as it is native to Australia.
Notable techniques shown in the two paintings are strictly calculated and reduced forms and subdued color palettes. Mechanical and scientific forms and colors of domestic machines were primary sources of inspiration. Through her invented technique, the artist sought to indicate the improved quality of living manifested by modernization.

Art Gallery NSW: Australian Modern Art — Part 1 Australian Avant-garde

Modern Art: from Europe to Australia

In Europe, the transition from classical art to modern art occurred in the mid-19th century. Right before the transition, the academic painting was prevalent. It focused on painting beautified representations of real life. Impressionists, a group of painters in Paris, including Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Paul Cezanne rejected conventional academic tradition by capturing sunlight's momentary effect on a subject with rough brush strokes. Rejected by Paris Salon, the official art exhibition of a historic art school in Paris, Impressionists held an independent exhibition in 1874. Critiques and audience greeted their work with derision. A such art movement is Impressionism, and it marked the beginning of modern art in Europe. Modern art refers to experimental and progressive artistic practice that originated from modernism, a global movement that sought new ideas, subjects, and techniques to create artwork that aligned with the experience and values of modern industrial life.

In the 20th century, cities were socially, culturally, and physically transformed by the dynamics of modernization. In the rising structures of the metropolis, people adapted to new conditions and improved quality of life. Aspiring artists flocked to cities, especially Sydney, as they were primary sites for the encounter with modernity and diverse artistic critiques. Sydney artists noticed social changes brought by modernization. To depict the rapidly advancing society, artists sought innovative ideas and techniques from Europe, the birthplace of modernism. After returning to Sydney, artists propagated acquired ideas to like-minded artists.

Australian Avant-garde

Based on modernist principles and techniques from Europe, Sydney artists employed them in the Australian context. Australian artists portrayed Australian subjects based on observation of composition, form, and color with European avant-garde ideas and techniques. They developed their artworks further through collaboration. The such artistic practice created modern artworks truly unique to Australia, which was distinguished from European avant-garde artworks.
Australian modern art offers insights into the individual creative mind by telling stories of Australian encounters, cultural exchange between Europe, and artistic collaboration.

Roy de Maistre, Rhythmic composition in yellow green minor, 1919,

Oil on paperboard

Roy de Maistre is the Australian counterpart of Kandinsky in the European avant-garde. He devised the first Australian abstract painting. Kandinsky, the inventor of abstract painting, produced paintings that show the confluence of music and spirituality. Inspired by the ideas of Kandinsky, Roy de Maistre invented the theory of color harmonization. His theory is visually demonstrated in this painting. It shows the similarities between the colors of the spectrum and notes of the musical scale. Through his paintings, the artist encourages viewers to seek spirituality through abstraction.

William Roberts, The interval before Round Ten,

1919-1920, Oil on canvas

Two boxers are taking a rest before the tenth round of a boxing match. the artist positions the viewer above the setting, so they can have a complete view of the match. The tense atmosphere after an intense match is visualized through angular forms and an evident outline. The such distinctive technique is derived from vorticism, a combined style of cubism and futurism. The artist also took inspiration from Fernand Leger's proletarian subjects and his tubular depiction of forms.

Frank Hinder, Tram kaleidoscope, 1948,

Tempera on hardboard

This geometrical image is a result of the overlay of the interior view of a tram in Sydney and the prospect of the outside being seen from the inside. Two chaotically intertwined spaces are harmoniously integrated by irregular geometrical patterns. Seen closely, the space consists of the cylindrical tram, distant buildings, a zooming car, and a crowd of anonymous commuters. This dynamic and ambitious depiction of modern Sydney is a synthesis of Cubism, Futurism, and Orphism. This painting is a true legacy of the artist's distinct and innovative vision.

Art Gallery NSW: Australian Classical Art 1800 – 1900

Just as European classical masterpieces are in museums of Europe, Australian classical masterpieces are in Art Gallery of New South Wales, making them a must-see for visitors. Australian classical paintings portray scenes of Australia and Europe by following Greek and Roman ideas and techniques. 

After European settlement, European artists migrated to Australia and continued their artistic practice by painting various subjects and passing their skills to the next generations of European painters in Australia.

Active Australian classical artists had diverse geographical backgrounds. They grew up and had art education either in Europe or Australia. 

Art Gallery NSW has a large collection of significant Australian masterpieces painted by classical artists. Among them, I carefully selected works that evidently show key characteristics of Australian classical art. Selected masterpieces show Australian nature, the arduous lives of the Australian working class, the sumptuous lives of privileged Europeans, and voluptuous feminine beauty. 

Selected Works

• Nature of Sydney and Australia
• Arduous Lives of Working Class in Australia
• Sumptuous lives of High Society in Europe
• 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.

Tom Roberts, Holiday sketch at Coogee, 1888, Oil on canvas

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.

Sydney Long, Pan, 1898, Oil on canvas

The art-nouveau and Symbolist masterpiece shows an Arcadian pagan god blowing his pipe while a group of naked people dancing along to his music and lying down in a geometrical forest. The decorative and art nouveau-inspired trees symbolize the sensuous mood of the erotic spectacle. Naked people represent bucolic liberty and erotic frisson.

Arthur Streeton, Fire's on, 1891, Oil on canvas

The painting captures a critical moment during the construction of a railway line across the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney: the death of a railway worker in an explosion. 'Fire's on' was the warning call before the blast, as the gang dynamited the Lapstone Tunnel through the hillside. The human drama of the painting, however, is overshadowed by the immensity of the landscape itself. Arthur Streeton's visions of the landscape have defined an image of Australian nature.

John Glover, Patterdale Farm, c1840, Oil on canvas

The farm painting shows the English painter's depiction of his farm at his new home, Tasmania, an island state in Australia. Image on right is a close up of the livestock in the painting. Notice the difference in scale between the vast landscape and the domesticated animals.

Henry James Johnsone, A billabong of the Goulburn, Victoria,
1884, Oil on canvas

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.

Oswald Brierly, Whalers off Twofold Bay, NSW, 1867, Watercolor 

The masterpiece features a commercial whale slaughter operation at Twofold Bay, on the far south coast of New South Wales.

Tom Roberts, The Golden Fleece, 1894, Oil on canvas

Henry Herbert La Thangue, Cider apples,
1899, Oil on canvas

Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo, The strike's aftermath,
1913, Oil on canvas

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.

  

E Phillips Fox, The ferry, c1910-1911, Oil on canvas

The setting of this 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.

Rupert Bunny, A summer morning, 1908,
Oil on canvas

This greatly admired painting portrays the life of privileged women in lacy dresses. The artist's wife, kittenish herself, plays with a lapful of cats. Her companion accepts a basin of milk from a meaningfully shadowed maid.

 

George Lambert, Holiday in Essex, 1910, Oil on canvas

The subject of this monumental painting was derived from the family holiday at Mersea Island in Essex and features Lambert's wife Amy and sons Constant and Maurice. The painting is a deliberate attempt to emulate Velasquez, a Baroque art pioneer. Lambert studied his composition to place subjects and incorporated chiaroscuro to establish contrast.

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.

Charles Landelle, Ismenie, nymph of Diana,
1878, Oil on canvas

Violet Teague, Dian dreams, 1909,
Oil on canvas

Art Gallery NSW: European Classical Art 1400 – 1900

Topics Covered

• Venue
• Background Knowledge
• Classical Art
• Classical Paintings at Art Gallery NSW
• Selected Works
• Narrative: Myth and Legend
• Composition: Beautified Representations of European Lives

 

Venue

Art Gallery of New South Wales is the Australian version of The Met and MoMA. When walking into the museum, the audience would get the impression that artwork collections at the renowned museums are reduced to a smaller scale and housed on one vast floor. The 20th-century gallery on the left displays modern art of Australia and Grand Courts on the right exhibit European and Australian classical art of the 15th - 20th century. Due to expansive collections of works, viewing one collection per day is recommended.
I was overwhelmed by the loads of artworks displayed at the Courts. Paintings were too crammed into the walls of the Courts that several paintings hung vertically. Paintings were not as well organized as that of Modern Art displayed in the left galleries. Though classical paintings on display were masterpieces, too many of them cause viewers confusion by distracting focus and fatigue from overworking cognition. The best solution, in this case, is to concentrate on your field of interest and pay attention to a few works.

Background Knowledge

Classical Art

Classical art has over nine centuries of history, so its history is certainly longer than that of modern art, which has 60 years. The history of classical art took place in Europe and began in the medieval period of the 500s, and it lasted until the emergence of impressionism, an initial modern art movement, in the late 1800s. Accordingly, classical art boasts an immense collection of art created during the period of classical antiquity.

Technically, classical art refers to art created in the style of Greek and Roman art. Artists studied classical ideas and techniques and followed visual rules of form, proportion, and perspective to create their art. Their main purpose in creating artwork was to depict ideal representations of people and objects in the real world. Artists realized their vision in a variety of genres including sculpture, painting, fresco, ceramics, mosaic, and more. Each genre had corresponding techniques, meaning skills done by hand.

Classical artworks portray subjects realistically, so viewers can understand the happenings in the images. Unlike experimental and expressive artworks of modern art, classical artworks show the subject rationally and directly. The two main types of subjects were narrative and composition. The narrative captures a scene of an important story from the bible or myth and thus contained morals. Composition reconstructs reality by beautifying subjects and rearranging compositions. As time progressed, ideas, subjects, and techniques of art gradually changed within the frame of classicism. Those changes are also known as art movements.
Conclusively, classical art shows the power of European civilization. Based on investment from affluent sponsors of art, visually intelligent Europeans formulated basic theories about art, cultivated various genres, and devised mediums and techniques to visualize ideas. As a result, educated artists had the capacity of rendering their ideas with high precision in visually pleasing compositions. Artists painted countless masterpieces that showed the lasting legacy of advanced civilization.

Classical Paintings at Art Gallery NSW

As classical art originated in Europe, the masterpieces are consequently in art museums in Europe. Though Art Gallery NSW does have classical artworks of high quality, they are comparatively less significant than works in Europe. Yet, I still selected the best works from the Australian museum's European classical paintings, as works painted in Europe show the power of European civilization. 
Grand Court has an overwhelming amount of Classical Art created across five centuries. To prioritize the artworks, I divided them into two groups, setting European Settlement in Australia as a milestone. The first group of paintings is European Classical Art from 1400 to 1900. The second group of paintings is Australian Classical Art from 1800 to 1900. In two groups of paintings, I carefully selected important works based on four standards.

1. large scale: large images are meant to be seen by many people
2. defined subject: the depicted subject is well delineated
3. completed within five years
4. has description: important works usually accompany an explanation

Then I categorized them according to their type of subjects.
1. narrative

• captures a scene of a story
• similar function as modern-day TV - a reminder of an important story
• the depicted story taught and endorsed morals

2. composition

• subjects indicate how people lived in the era of creation
• reconstructs reality by beautifying subjects and rearranging compositions

For paintings of narrative subjects, artists froze a scene of a story into a painting by depicting the scene realistically. Painted biblical tales, myths, and legends showed morals that formed the basis of European civilization and enforced endorsed values. Based on those morals, Europeans build their lives. Composition paintings suggest how people lived when artworks were painted.

Selected Works

Narrative: Legend and Myth

Edward Coley Burne-Jones, The fight: St George kills the dragon VI, 1866, Oil on canvas

Ford Madox Brown, Chaucer at court of Edward III, 1847-1851,
Oil on canvas

A celebration of the English language, the painting was the first work to be purchased by the museum. Subject shows a significant historical event of Chaucer, the father of English literature, is reading lines from Canterbury Tales to King Edward III, who ruled England from January 1327 until his death in 1377.  

Composition: Beautified Representations of European Lives

Ambrosius Benson, Portraits of Cornelius Duplicius de Scheppere and his wife Elizabeth Donche, c1540, Diptych: oil on panel

Duplicius de Scheppere was an important scholar and diplomat who traveled extensively in the service of the Kings of Denmark in the 16th century.

Abraham van Beyeren, Still life with fruit, a glass, and a Chinese
Wanli porcelain bowl, 1656, Oil on canvas

William Marlow, The Rialto bridge, Venice, 1780s, Oil on canvas

Francois Salle, The anatomy class at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, 1888,
Oil on canvas

Australian Art: from Classical Antiquity to Contemporary Emerging Talents

European settlers and their descendants of Australia have evolved their art world distinctive from the rest of western countries since the 1800s. Immense and sublime nature and abundant life nurtured from fertile soil and bountiful ocean influenced Australian art throughout its history. Sydney, a vibrant and multicultural capital, has two magnificent world-class art museums dedicated to Australian art.

Art Gallery of New South Wales, a national museum comprised of two enormous buildings, has extensive collection featuring from classical art to modern and contemporary art. Museum of Contemporary Art Australia showcases its own collection of contemporary artwork and exhibitions of currently reputed artists.

For the first time in my life, I traveled to Sydney in the second week of February. To understand western civilization in the colonized land, and to study and appreciate Australian art, I visited both museums. I'm truly blessed that I got to witness the whole trajectory of Australian art by observing artwork. Fascinated to share acquired knowledge, I published a comprehensive survey on Australia Art comprised of five topics. Each topic represents a significant phase of Australian art history.

Topics

1. Art Gallery NSW: European Classical Art 1400 – 1900

Setting European settlement in Australia as a milestone, classical paintings at the museum were divided into two groups: European and Australian. This article discusses six selected paintings from the first group. European artists of classical era painted them in Europe, and display the power of European civilization.

2. Art Gallery NSW: Australian Classical Art 1800 – 1900

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. This post features 16 selected Australian classical paintings from the collection of the museum. It explains distinctive characteristics of Australian classical art and its geographical and sociological backgrounds.

3. Art Gallery NSW: Australian Modern Art 1900 - 1960

• Part 1: Australian Avant-garde
• Part 2: Modern Life
• Part 3: Sensuality

Based on modernist principles and techniques from Europe, Sydney artists employed them in the Australian context. Australian artists portrayed Australian subjects based on observation of composition, form, and color with European avant-garde ideas and techniques. They developed their artworks further through collaboration. The such artistic practice created modern artworks truly unique to Australia, which was distinguished from European avant-garde artworks. 

4. Museum of Contemporary Art: Perspectives on Place

The exhibition showcased two types of contemporary artwork: the first type reveals the national history of colonization and the second type shows the current world governed by the western system. The exhibition offers viewers an opportunity to contemplate and reach a conclusion that the national condition is the global status quo.

5. Museum of Contemporary Art: Primavera 2022 - Young Australian Artists

The exhibition showcased six works created by six emerging celebrities endorsed by Modern and Contemporary Art Australia. The works displayed in the exhibition are portraits of the artists, and viewers can get to know the stories of each artist through them. Remembering the artists featured in the exhibition is highly recommended, as they will eventually become big names in the art world in the next 5-10 years. Big names mean showering with accolades and solo exhibitions at world-class art institutions.