Glover Education
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A Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery National Touring Exhibition, in association with Art Exhibitions Australia IN T RO D U C T I O N This exhibition traces the life and work of the Ang l o - Au s t r a l ian pai n ter John Glover (1767-1849). Gl o ver made importa n t contri b utions both to the British art world of the early nineteenth centu r y and to the early de vel o p m e nt of settler land s c a pe art in Aus t r a li a . The earlie st exa m p l e s of what Tasmania looked lik e are fou n d in coastal views observed and recorded on voyage s of European maritime exploration, by Abel Tasman (1642), Jam e s Cook (1777) and Nicolas Baudin (1802). Af t e r se t t l e m e nt, these were fol l o wed by topographical drawi n gs of the inte r ior by explorers, surveyors and the occasional co n vict draughtsman, works designed for use by the colonial administrators both in Aus t r a l ia and Great Britain. By the 1830s, increasing numbers of free settlers led to an increasingl y affluent society, with growi n g cultural needs an d aspirations. Some artists began to make a livi n g from settler commissions – for famil y portraits or views of their pr o p e rt i e s – or from prov i di ng drawi n g tuition for their children. Most colonial artists conti n ued to pai n t in the European style – not only from the habits of their orig i n al training, but probably also from a homesick longi n g to fin d the famil iar in an unfa mi l iar land . Ho wever , by the 1840s, John Glover had evol v ed new and innovat i ve ways of seeing and pai nt i n g the marvellous and in c o m pa r a b le Aus t r a l ian land s c a pe, breaking to some ext e nt with the classical tradition to give a more accurate and faithful represe ntation of his new envi r o n m e nt. Ed u c a tional Mate ri a l : This material traces the devel o p m e nt of John Glover ’ s work in Europe and Aus t r a l ia. For the most par t in chronological order, it invi t e s users to study Glover ’ s devel o p m e nt through a stimula t i n g and app r o p r iate selection of his works, fol l o wed by exc i t i n g activi t i e s and thought-provok i n g discussion points . Ou t l i n e : The Educational Material covers the central themes of ‘John Glover and European Lands c a pe’, ‘John Glover and Aus t r a l ian Lands c a pe’, ‘John Glover and the Tasmanian Ab o ri g i n e s’ and ‘Compar isons with Conte m p o r a r y Livi n g Tasmanian Lands c ap i s t s ’ . It is intr o d u c ed by a short summary of ideas perti n e nt to the ‘Concept of Lands c a pe – Changi n g View s ’ . Cu r ric u lum Links: De signed to suit a range of learning objectives and associated crit e r ia derived from syllabu s e s relevan t to Seconda r y, Upper Seconda r y and Senior Seconda r y students, (Yrs. 7-12), some mo di fication and selection may be necess a r y to ac c o m m odate var ious needs. Teachers and students are enc o u r a ged to select and adapt these materials according l y. As well as its relevan c e to Ar t and Design and the Visual Ar ts subjects, this website material may be relevan t to other subjects of the curriculum, such as History, Urban Studie s, Fine Ar ts, Tou r ism Studie s, Engl ish Studie s and Ge o g r ap h y. Cat a l o gu e : A comprehens i ve catalogue (by David Hansen, Senior Curator of Ar t at the Tasmanian Museum and Ar t Gallery) will accompan y the exh i b i t i o n . A major reso u r c e for study and enj oy m e nt, it is beauti f u l l y designed and pr es e nted, with full colour illustrations. It includes a thorough and access i bl e ac c o u n t of the arti s t ’ s life and work and specialist ess a ys by leadin g scholar s (on Glover ’ s Aus t r a l ian land s c ap e s, his represe ntation of Ab o ri g i n e s, his pai nt i n g materials and methods, his sketchbooks and his prin ts), as well as detailed notes on individual works and an ex t en s ive biblio g r ap h y. Se nior Seconda r y students will fin d the catalogue inval u a b le for in-depth study of part i c u l ar aspects of Glover ’ s wor k . Exhibition Date s : Tasmanian Museum & Ar t Gallery, Hobart 28 November 2003 to 1 Feb ru a r y 2004 Ar t Gallery of South Aus t r a l ia, Ad e l aide 19 Feb ru a r y to 12 Apr il 2004 Na t i o n al Gallery of Aus t r a l ia, Canberra 24 Apr il to 18 Jul y 2004 Na t i o n al Gallery of Vic t o r ia, Melbourne 13 August to 3 October 2004 EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL LANDSCAPE IN CONTEXT – CHANGING VI E W S What is a landscape? A piece of inlan d scene r y? A picture of it? An attempt to organise, improve or order a piece of lan d by gardeni n g? A spa c e we inhabit? More than our backdrop? In art, ‘land s c a pe’ usually means a work based on the arti s t ’ s observation and interpretation of a plac e, scene or view. This can take many forms and invol v e the use of a diverse range of media from pai nt i n g to print m a k i n g, drawi n g, ph o t o g r ap h y, film, and mul t i - m e d ia and more! A look at your local gallery collections and recent exhibitions will co n firm this vari e t y . Co nt e m p o r a r y interpretations of nature in land s c a pe, include concepts which at times have moved away from mere ob s e r vation of the view. Some deal with political issues such as Ab o ri g i n al lan d rights or envi r o n m e ntal conservat i o n . Some explore dif f e r e nt visual perspectives, from aerial photograph y to microscopic close-ups. Some draw maps. Some em p l o y ‘on-site’ installation and/or perfor m a n ce . We all inhabit the land s c a pe to some ext e nt, though maybe not the wild, pastoral or far dis t a n t one! We imagine it, an d dream of it as we sit in offic es, classrooms or the bus or train that takes us there. The artists of mid to late eighteenth centu r y Engla n d used land s c a pe ex t en s ivel y as conte nt for their work. Th e y st u d ied the sevente e nth centu r y classicism of Italian and Fre nch pai nt i n g, which was considered to set a standard of ex ce l l en ce. Works by Claude Lorrain (1604/5-1682), Salvator Rosa (1615-1673)and Gaspard Dughet (called Gaspar d Poussin, 1615-1675) are exa m p l e s. Subjects were drawn from An c i e nt Greek and Latin literature or from the Bible , an d fol l o wed a restrained, noble style. Something imagined and idealised, this “elevated” style of land s c a pe pai nt i n g included elements of both ‘the Beautiful’ and ‘the Sublime’ (‘See catalogue: ‘John Glover and the Colonial Pi c t u r es q ue` pp. 25-8) Br itish artists taking the ‘Grand Tour’ to the Conti n e nt saw such works in Italy and Fra n c e. Those unab le to travel th e m s e l v es saw exa m p l e s in the private collections of aristocrats or in fol ios of engr av i n gs of Old Master works, whi c h were being published in Engla n d at the time. The late eighteenth and early nineteenth cent u ri es saw the emergen c e of a style known as ‘the Picturesq ue’.