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

Thank you for finish reading the article. It is the first 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 view the complete list of the articles within the study, please direct to the linked article. 

Australian Art: from Classical Antiquity to Contemporary Emerging Talents

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