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Conrad Martens WORKS in OIL Catalogue of Works

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Conrad Martens WORKS in OIL Catalogue of Works Conrad Martens WORKS IN OIL Catalogue of Works Compiled by Michael Organ Thirty Victoria Street 1989 1 Contents Introduction Conrad Martens & Oil Painting Guide to the Catalogue 1 Field Descriptions 2 Codes Index to Catalogue Catalogue of Works Appendices 1 Attribution of Conrad Martens Portraits 2 Cave Paintings 3 Southern Tableland Views 4 References to Oil Paintings (1837‐1979) Bibliography 2 Introduction This catalogue aims to identify all works executed in oil (and associated media such as body colour and gauche) by Conrad Martens during his career as an artist, and validate them with those noted in his manuscript ‘Account of Pictures painted at Sydney, N.S.Wales [1835‐78]’ (Dixson Library MS142 & MS143), or any of his other records such as letters, diaries, and notes on painting. Also included are portraits in oil of Martens by artists such as Maurice Felton and Mr Nuyts. Martens’ ‘Account of Pictures’ provides an invaluable source for identifying his more than 100 extant works in oil. Though ‘Account of Pictures’ specifically identifies only 35 oil paintings, many others noted ‐ but not identified ‐ therein as oils, can be matched with known works. ‘Account of Pictures’ identifies the following 35 oil paintings: Title Date Bota Fogo, Rio Janiero 20 March 1838 Brush at Illawarra 26 May 1838 Oropena, Tahiti 31 May 1838 Salcombe Castle 2 May 1839 Govets Leap 23 May 1839 View of New Government House 28 Oct. 1841 Sydney from St Leonards 14 Nov. 1841 View from Rose Bay 30 Nov. 1841 View of Old Government House 21 Jany. 1842 Government Stables 31 Jany. 1842 Small view of part of Govt. Stables 10 April 1842 View from my window 26 Sept. 1842 Double Bay 22 March 1847 Brush Scene, Brisbane Water 4 July 1848 Fort Street and N.Shore from Flagstaff Hill 4 July 1848 View of Sydney from St. Leonards 14 Feby. 1851 Burns Inn, out door 4 March 1851 The Black Eagle 7 August 1852 Scene near the Weatherboard Inn 31 Jany. 1853 Sydney from Robinsons Point 22 April 1853 Coochin Run 31 May 1853 Glen. Franklin Vale 8 Nov. 1853 The Harbour from Millars Corner 29 April 1854 The Castaway 1 May 1855 View of Sydney 25 June 1855 St Pauls 28 May 1857 The Huntsman 17 Decr. 1857 View of Coolangatta 23 June 1860 Musipula 3 May 1861 Tilligerry 13 March 1869 Above Balmoral (sketch) 28 May 1878 Sydney from Silica 28 May 1878 Funchal (sketch) 25 June 1878 Coolangatta (sketch) 25 June 1878 The Antiquary 20 July 1878 Whilst many of the above paintings have been identified with extant works, others are still missing ‐ all are, however, included in the following catalogue raisonne. It should be pointed out that it is still unclear whether each individual entry in ‘Account of Pictures’ represents a commission, or a sale, or both. Therefore, whilst Martens may record a commission for a work in oil (as in the above 35 instances), the resultant painting delivered to the customer may have been a watercolour ‐ if the artist thought it a better work ‐ or an oil. This problem is further 3 exacerbated by the fact that Martens produced multiple copies of individual subjects over a number of years, both to experiment with technique and to satisfy his many patrons. It appears that Conrad Martens began painting in oils in Australia early in 1838, and the period 1839‐42 was his most productive in that media ‐ producing a large number of oils to satisfy his local and overseas patrons. Even though not indicated in ‘Account of Pictures’, a great many of the artist’s extant but un‐dated works in oil have been attributed to this period by the author. Perhaps he was working so often in oil after May 1839 that he discontinued specifically identifying them as such in his ‘Account of Pictures’. Martens continued to work in oil throughout the remainder of his life, though he concentrated on watercolours during his final years. A separate group of Martens’ oil paintings are those which are not identified in any form in ‘Account of Pictures’ (e.g. Rockleigh Grange, c1850) and are supposedly part of the artist’s personal collection. They were most likely painted for members of his family and friends, both in Australia and England, with no intention of being offered for sale ‐ he is known to have sent a number of works to his brother Henry, in England. The dating of these works is problematic, and is usually based on comparison of style with dated works, or information gleaned from extraneous manuscript information and original pencil sketches. An attempt has nevertheless been made to date all works in the Catalogue. Conrad Martens & Oil Painting Conrad Martens was primarily a watercolourist, without doubt most at ease and proficient as an artist in that medium. However he also considered himself somewhat of a ‘drawing master’ (as Charles Darwin noted in 1834), and as such was willing and eager to experiment with all forms of art, from sketching and painting, through to lithography and engraving, sculpturing, wood carving, and painting in oils. Whether Martens enjoyed working in oils, or saw it as a necessary task for a professional artist with a young family to support, is not clear. Without doubt his many local and overseas patrons would have called for works in this media as part of their commissions. Many contemporary and later commentators have criticised Martens’ oils, calling them turgid, inferior to his watercolours, and, as one critic noted in 1847. His oil paintings are remarkable for the want of that strength and depth of tone ‐ of that power in short which it is the property of oil colours to give. They are pure and clear in colouring and tone, but they look like water colour drawings. Perhaps the watercolourist in Martens was too deeply etched within his psyche to break away from its techniques when painting in oil ‐ It is a rare artist who can work successfully in both media. However amongst his ‘turgid’ works are many gems and his oils after 1851, when he worked with the English artist Marshall Claxton and picked up a few hints in oil‐colour technique, are decidedly of a lighter air, though fewer in number. Martens’ earliest authenticated works in oil date from 1838, though he probably experimented with oil previous to this whilst a student in England between 1828‐33. During the four years following 1838 he laboured prodigiously in the medium, producing major paintings for patrons such as Governor Sir George Gipps, Hannibal Hawkins Macarthur, and the Carter’s. These works proved to be very profitable for the artist ‐ paintings of 18 x 26" selling for an average of 15 guineas each ‐ and enabled him to build his house, Rockleigh Grange, on five acres of land at St Leonards, on Sydney’s north shore. Unfortunately, by 1842 economic gloom and depression had hit the Colony and many of Martens patrons were facing financial ruin. In such an atmosphere investment in the arts was severely curtailed, and with the downturn in business we see the number of oils produced by the artist reduced to only a few per year. Whilst he continued to produce works in oil sporadically for the remainder of his life ‐ selling them for up to 30 guineas each ‐ his major emphasis was on improving his skills in watercolour. His works in that medium show continued refinement and improvement right up until his final years (he died in 1878). After working with Marshall Claxton in 1851, Martens’ oils become lighter and approach the quality of his watercolours. If Martens had not been such a superb watercolourist, producing works capturing the light and atmosphere of Sydney Harbour unlike any artist before him, perhaps we would look better upon on his oils, however in the eyes of this author and many others they will always remain in the shadow of these works ‐ mere ‘watercolours in oil’. Perhaps this catalogue will lead to a reappraisal of his oils. 4 Guide to the Catalogue Within this catalogue the following format is used to describe each individual work, consisting of 17 descriptive fields: Fields Example No. 61 Title View of Sydney Harbour Date 1850 Medium Oil on canvas Dimensions 47 x 66cm (18 1/2 x 26in) Library No. NK4484 Subject Group ‐ Dated ‘1850’ l.r. Signed ‘C.Martens’ l.r. Inscribed ‘Sydney from St. Leonards, Novr. 1850’ on label on verso. Collection National Library of Australia, Nan Kivell Collection Publication Reproduced A Catalogue of Oil Paintings in the Pictorial Collection of the National Library of Australia, Canberra, 1988, p83, b/w. Reviews Exhibition Provenance Notes Each of these fields contains specific information regarding the paintings. 5 Description of Fields The information given in each of these seventeen fields is described as follows: No. ‐ Reference number ‐ refers to this catalogue only. The works are arranged roughly chronologically, therefore the smaller the number the earlier the work. Title ‐ The title allocated is the one which, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, was originally ascribed by Martens and noted in his ‘Account of Pictures’ between 1835‐78. If reference cannot be found within the account book, the most correct, descriptive title will be used. Over the intervening years many new and different titles have been given to his works. These titles come from a variety of sources; they may disregard providential information; and are often erroneous. They are rarely those which were given by the artist upon point of sale and as recorded by him in his account books, diaries and letters. Fortunately, using this manuscript material ‐ especially his ‘Account of Pictures’ ‐ and Martens’ numerous preliminary pencil sketches, we can allocate the original titles to many of the extant works.
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