I had always considered the artist, Tom Roberts, an Australian. However he was born in Dorset England and migrated as a 14 year old to Melbourne Australia .... only returning to London to study 3 years full time at the Royal Academy of Art, and also for an extended period of time in the early 1900's. He was considered to be of the Heidelberg School Period. (Artists who painted en plein air in rural Heidelberg Victoria , could be considered as the "Heidelberg School". Since then, the term has evolved and covers painters who worked together at "artists' camps" around Melbourne and Sydney in the 1880s and 1890s. Wikipedia.) Let me confess from the outset ... I'm no artist myself, unfortunately. I would love to be able to express myself on the canvas or alternatively as a singer or musician. But I know what I like with my eyes, and I know what I like with my ears! And Tom Roberts' paintings, especially the Australian ones, are among my favourites. So I took myself to the National Gallery of Australia ... and special exhibition of Tom Roberts' works brought together for a short period of time. (The photos below are my amateur shots, and I have tried to acknowledge the Collections from where they were loaned to the current Exhibition at the National Gallery of Australia.) At one point in his career as an artist, Tom Roberts decided to catch the essence of Australian life (both country and city) ... to capture that time in history that was "his" time .... Today we are privileged to have these art works that give us insight into a 20-30 year period in Australian history. For those who have studied art, you will apparently see his incorporation of techniques learnt overseas in certain paintings. When you see the whole picture of "Shearing the Rams" (below right) the boy in the bottom left hand corner is modelled on another European artist. And he even looks European to me! Follow this link for a full picture and essay on this painting via the National Gallery of Victoria. http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/essay/tom-robertss-shearing-the-rams-the-hidden-tradition/ Roberts was also present at the Opening of the very first Australian Parliament at our Federation in 1901 ... along with 12,000 other invited guests. He was commissioned to paint this event, including 250 mini portraits of identifiable guests in the foreground audience. His close friend, a politician named Sir Henry Parkes, who died in 1896 was called "the father of Federation". Roberts could not conceive of the painting without him, so Parkes was "painted into" the enormous canvas ... as a vague portrait, framed and hanging high on the wall above the Royal Party. Another legacy he left to us and as a reminder of the first ever Australian Parliament. He called it "The Big Picture". Here's a link to that large artwork. www.aph.gov.au/Visit_Parliament/Art/Top_5_Treasures/Tom_Roberts_Big_Picture His paintings of England and Europe seem very different in contrast to those of the Australian ones. But I did like the one he did of Lake Como in Italy (below left). I photographed just a partial corner of the painting. And I loved this plaster sculpture ... of Caleb, his son (below right). But his "bread and butter" income seemed to be from portraiture, and also as a framer of art work. There apparently was a time in the early 1900's that this occupation (as a framer) was all that he did. As with his landscapes, his portraits are realistic ... here's a couple below. Other well known paintings on exhibition included ... Bourke Street West 1895 (Melbourne) ... Bailed Up 1895 (near Inverell NSW) ... The Golden Fleece (another shearing shed scene) ... Mosman Bay 1895 (in Sydney) ... Coogee Beach 1888 (Sydney). Interesting note regarding his well known stage coach holdup called "Bailed Up" ... it was painted near Inverell NSW from his "perch" in a tree. He added the coach later in his studio, but it did not sell readily and stayed with him. However 30 years later he reworked the background landscape ... and it sold. Artists of his time included Frederick McCubbin, another of the Heidelberg School. He is a favourite of mine too ... especially 'Lost". Follow this link: http://www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/McCubbin_lost.htm For the time being however, I'm switching top favouritism to Tom Roberts. What a journey through his lifetime of art! Loved every moment. Thank you to the National Gallery of Australia. Exhibition closes end of March 2016. See you next time around .... (c) 2016 Samthoughts.com
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AuthorSamthoughts.com is authored by an Australian, who recently discovered a love of writing. CategoriesArchives
December 2019
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