Diploma Lecture Series 2011 Art and ll: European Preludes and Parallels

Colour in art: revisiting 1919

Deborah Edwards

9/10 February 2011

Lecture summary: Various movements of the early 20 th century - Suprematism, de Stijl, Orphism, Futurism and Vorticism - revealed the religious, spiritual and occult trends which were a pervasive influence on the development of European modernism. The exhibition ‘ Colour in Art’ mounted in in 1919 by Roy de Maistre and heralded an Australian receptivity to such artistic and spiritualist trends. De Maistre and Wakelin’s new preoccupation with colour and experimentation with colour-music syncromy catalysed the creation of the first (white Australian) experiments in the most important key language of art to emerge in the 20 th century – that of abstraction.

Slide list: *1. Roy de Maistre, Rhythmic composition in yellow green minor 1919, oil, AGNSW 2. ‘ Colour in Art ‘ exhibition catalogue, August 1919, The Art Salon, Elizabeth Str, Sydney 3. Theosophical forms built by music, A Besant and C W Leadbeater, Thought forms 1905 4. Roland Wakelin, Interior 1914, oil, private coll; Nora Simpson, Studio portrait Chelsea 1915, oil, AGNSW; Cossington Smith, The sock knitter 1915, oil, AGNSW; Cossington Smith, Self portrait 1916, oil, NGA 5. Anthony Dattilo Rubbo, The strike’s aftermath 1913 , oil, AGNSW, Dattilo Rubbo, Pea gathering 1913, oil, Qld Art Gallery 6. Roland Wakelin, Fruit seller Farm cove 1915, oil, NGA; Wakelin, Down the hills to Berry’s Bay 1916, oil, AGNSW *7. Roland Wakelin, Synchromy in orange major 1919, oil, AGNSW ; Roy de Maistre Syncromy Berry’s Bay 1919, oil, NGV 8. Stanton McDonald Wright, Conception Syncromy 1914, private collection; Kandinsky, Composition 1913, oil, MOMA *9. Roy de Maistre, Boatsheds in violet red key 1919, oil, private collection; Roy de Maistre, Colour sketch 1919 private collection; Wakelin, Houses Hunters Hill c1919, oil, NGA 10. de Maistre, Waterfront 1918-19, oil, private collection ; de Maistre, Old Barns at Berrima c 1918, oil, private collection 11. Roy de Maistre, Berry’s Bay 1919, oil, AGNSW; Wakelin, Causeway Tuggerah 1919, oil, AGNSW; de Maistre, Landscape with church spire 1920, oil, private coll ; de Maistre, Berry’s Bay 1920, oil, AGSA 12. Roy de Maistre, A set of colour discs, scales and wheels , c 1919, oil, AGNSW 13. de Maistre, Rainbow scales c1930, crayon, AGNSW; de Maistre, Colour chart c1919, oil, AGNSW; de Maistre, Colour sketches nd, watercolour, AGNSW 14. de Maistre, ‘Mans bedroom’- Burdekin House 1929; 2006 recreation of the room by UNSW students Ruby Chu, Tito Paul Paular, Premala Shan, Wenzhao Yu and Yu Quan York Yang 15. Frantisek Kupka, works from The discs of Newton series 1913, oils, various collections *16. Leonardo Dudreville, The expansion of poetry 1913, oil, Qld AG; Robert Delaunay, Sun, Moon, Simultane I 1913, oil, MOMA ; Robert Delaunay, Simultaneous contrasts Sun and Moon 1913, oil, Guggenheim Museum *17. de Maistre, A painted picture of the Universe 1920-34, oil, NGV 18. De Maistre, Colour chart c 1919, oil, AGNSW; de Maistre, Studio Eccleston street c1939, oil, AGNSW 19. , Wonga Wonga str Turramurra 1930, watercolour, AGNSW; Cossington Smith, The bridge in building 1929-30, oil, NGA 20. Cossington Smith, Colour note c1926, watercolour, pencil, NGA 21. Cossington Smith, Sea wave 1931, oil, NGA 22. Margaret Preston, Still life c1915-16, oil, AGSA; Preston Sunshine 1916, oil, AGNSW 23. Margaret Preston, Colour sketchbook – chromatic scales c 1916?-20, watercolour, NGA 24. Margaret Preston, Colour essay (in B flat minor) c 1918 , oil, private collection; Margaret Preston, Still life 1925, oil, NGA *25. de Maistre, Study for Arrested phrase from Beethoven’s Ninth symphony in red major 1919 , pastel, watercolour, NGA; de Maistre, Arrested phase from Beethoven’s Ninth symphony in red major 1919, oil, NGA

26. de Maistre, Arrested phrase from Haydn Trio in orange-red minor 1919-35, oil, NGA; Arrested movement c1935, oil, private collection; Frantisek Kupka, Katedral 1913-4, oil, Jan and Meda Mládek collection, Museum Kampa 27. de Maistre, Colour-music (piano scroll) c1934, gouache, AGNSW 28. Ralph Balson, Construction in Green 1942, oil, AGNSW; Ralph Balson, Construction 3 1941, oil, Newcastle Art Gallery; Yvonne Audette, Concerto for flute and violin 1968, oil, private collection 29. John Aslanidas, Sonic network no 2 2005-6, oil and synthetic polymer paint, private collection

Bibliography: - Mary Eagle, ‘Australian Modern between the wars 1914-1939’, Sydney, 1989 - Deborah Edwards, ‘Margaret Preston’, Sydney, 2005 - Deborah Hart, ‘Grace Cossington Smith’, Canberra, 2005 - Heather Johnson, ‘Roy de Maistre, The Australian Years 1894-1930’, Sydney, 1988 - Anne Stephen, Andrew McNamara, Philip Goad, ‘Modernism and Australia. Documents in Art, Design and Architecture 1917-1967’, Sydney, 2006 - Steven Tonkin, ‘Sight and Sound. Music and Abstraction in ’ (brochure), Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, 2010 - Nicholas Waterlow, Annabel Pegus, ‘Colour in Art’ (brochure), COFA, Sydney, 2008

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

Roland Wakelin, Synchromy in orange major , 1919. AGNSW

Roy de Maistre, Syncromy Berrys Bay , 1919. NGV

Roy de Maistre, Boatsheds in violet red key , 1919. Private collection [left]; and Colour sketch , 1919. Private collection [right]

Roland Wakelin, Houses Hunters Hill , c1919. NGA

Leonardo Dudreville, The expansion of poetry , 1913. QAG

Robert Delaunay, Sun, Moon, Simultane I , 1913. MOMA

Robert Delaunay, Simultaneous contrasts Sun and Moon , 1913. Guggenheim Museum

Roy de Maistre, A painted picture of the Universe , 1920-34. NGV

Roy de Maistre, Study for ‘Arrested phase from Beethoven’s Ninth symphony in red major’ , 1919. NGA

Roy de Maistre, Arrested phase from Beethoven’s Ninth symphony in red major , 1919. NGA