Diploma Lecture Series 2011 Art and Australia ll: European Preludes and Parallels
The endurance of Romanticism
Barry Pearce
26 / 27 October 2011
Lecture summary:
Although Romanticism is more a state of mind than an art movement, certain paradigms of Romantic landscape painting from the early 19th century are essential to our understanding of the term in the context of European cultural history. Three artists in particular - Caspar David Friedrich, Samuel Palmer and J. M. W. Turner - produced images that have an uncanny resonance with how the the work of three Australians blossomed in the second half of the 20th century: Rick Amor, William Robinson and Lloyd Rees respectively. The Romantic impulse, that complex phenomenon with elusive boundaries treated warily by most art historians, may be seen here alive in our time within the Australian vernacular, and destined to continue. Recommended reading: Gavin Fry Rick Amor Beagle Press 2008; Lynne Sear (ed) Darkness & Light: the art of William Robinson Queensland Art Gallery 2001; Lloyd Rees/Renee Free Lloyd Rees: an artist remembers Craftsman House 1987; Andreas C. Papadakis (ed) The new Romantics Art & Design (London) 1988. William Robinson: The Transfigured Landscape (2011) Hart, Deborah. UT & Piper Press
Barry Pearce
Slide list:
Introduction
1. Caspar David Friedrich 1774-1840 Wreck in the moonlight 1835 Nationalgalerie Berlin
2. J. M. W. Turner 1775-1851 A mountain scene, Val d’Aosta c.1835 NGV
3. Samuel Palmer 1805-81 A hilly scene c.1824-26 Tate, London
4. Ferdinand Hodler 1853-1918 The Dents Blanches near Champéry 1916 Winterthur, Switzerland
Rick Amor b.1948
5. The artist in his studio, Melbourne 2007
6. Various photographs of the artist 1952-99
7. Maquette for Figure in a landscape 2004-06 Private collection
8. Nightmare 1982 Private collection
9. The empty shop 1990 Private collection
* 10. By the long sea 1995 Private collection
11. The beach at the end of the world 1997 NRAG
12. Morning in the city 1999 Private collection
13. The wave 1999 Private collection
* 14. Sailing to the west (evening) 2001 Private collection
15. Returning storm 2001 Private collection
16. Shark in a wave 2002 Private collection
17. The street at night 2004 Private collection
18. Cypresses (a town by the sea) 2005 Private collection
19. Self-portrait 2002 Private collection
20. Self-portrait with a postcard of Greco-Roman bust 2003 Qld Uni Art Museum
21. Figure in landscape 2007 Private collection
William Robinson b. 1936
22. The artist in his studio, photo by Greg Weight 1994
23. Interior with black dog 1970 Private collection
24. Morning 1976 Private collection
25. Birkdale farm construction with willy wagtail 1983-4 Private collection
26. William and Shirley, flora and fauna 1985 Private collection
27. Dawn with riders 1986 Private collection
28. Valley landscape 1988 Private collection
* 29. Landscape with night and day 1989 Private collection
30. The sunshine painting 1990 Private collection
31. The rainforest 1990 Gold Coast City Art Gallery
32. Emerging light towards Canungra 1994 Private collection
33. detail of above
34. detail of The blue pools, Springbrook to Beechmont 2000 Private collection
* 35. The blue pools, Springbrook to Beechmont 2000 Private collection 36. Self-portrait with goose feathers 1989 Private collection
37. Self-portrait for town and country 1991 Private collection
38. Unanimous self-portrait 1994 Private collection
Lloyd Rees 1895-1988
39. The artist in his studio, photo by Max Dupain 1979
40. Old boats, Wollstonecraft Bay c,1920 AGNSW
41. The end of the garden 1936 NERAG
42. Autumn morning, Lane Cove River 1937 NGV
43. The silent bush 1939 AGSA
* 44. The road to Berry 1947 AGNSW
45. The road to the mountain 1954 AGWA
46. The Upper Hastings River 1963 QAG
47. The surge of the sea 1964 Private collection
48. Sydney - the source 1973 Private collection
49. Solitude 1978 Private collection
50. Fire haze, Gerringong 1980 AGNSW
* 51. The waterfall, Tasmania 1982 AGNSW
52. The awakening 1985 Private collection
(All works are paintings, except 7 & 21 sculpture, and 17 drawing)
Rick Amor b.1948, By the long sea 1995 Private collection
Rick Amor b.1948, Sailing to the west (evening) 2001 Private collection
William Robinson b. 1936, Landscape with night and day 1989 Private collection
William Robinson b. 1936, The blue pools, Springbrook to Beechmont 2000 Private collection
Lloyd Rees 1895-1988, The road to Berry 1947 AGNSW
Lloyd Rees 1895-1988, The waterfall, Tasmania 1982 AGNSW