Tag: 19th century art

International Symposium | Parallel Histories: Nineteenth-Century Australian and American Landscape Painting |

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The landscape of ideas, explorer artists, the pastoral arcadia of settlers, and the natural wilderness will be surveyed in Not As The Songs Of Other Lands exhibition at the Ian Potter Museum of Art, University of Melbourne. Recalling sentimental landscapes in the manner of Claude Lorrain (1600-1682) and so-called ‘improved landscapes’ with the inclusion of mercantile, agricultural and industrial iconography, this Symposium will highlight the introduction of American theories of perception and visual representations of materiality and ideology in the landscape, especially when positioned alongside the Australian interpretation of Indigenous landscapes and cultures. There are many parallels to be found in the representation of such complex cultural heritage. This symposium will activate these ideas beyond the scope of the exhibition space. Join us as we examine the connections between the depiction of landscape, and the visual representation of myth and…

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Lecture Series | The Art and Life of Edgar Degas – Roberta Crisci-Richardson | NGV International

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Throughout art history Edgar Degas has been categorised as a nationalist, misogynist and experimental artist. But, is this an accurate portrayal? Considering Degas’s life and work from the streets of Paris to the walls of the salon – who was Degas really? In a series of three lectures, Dr Roberta Crisci-Richardson, author of Mapping Degas, challenges popular notions of Degas by considering his life and work in his context of nineteenth century France. Speaker Dr Roberta Crisci-Richardson, art historian, author of Mapping Degas: Real Spaces, Symbolic Spaces and Invented Spaces in the Life and Work of Edgar Degas (1834–1917) Book for the series or individually via the NGV website: http://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/program/the-art-and-life-of-edgar-degas/ Cost: $16 M / $20 A / $18 C (individual lecture) $44 M / $55 A / $50 C (series) Sat 30 Jul, 2pm | Is There Life Beyond Paris? To Degas the city…

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Lecture | How Pre-Raphaelite Frames Influenced Degas and the Impressionists | NGV International

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Enter the world of picture framing through a lecture by British art historian and specialist Lynn Roberts. Although often ignored, picture frames have a huge impact on our viewing and perception of pictures. This fact was well appreciated by many artists connected with the British Pre-Raphaelite and the French Impressionist movements, including Edgar Degas. For these artists, framing was a critical aspect of their art, and literally integral to it. In different ways their frames radically contrasted to the conventional, ornate frames in which pictures were hung in official exhibitions such as the Salon in Paris and Royal Academy in London. Explore the connections between the frame designs of the British Pre-Raphaelites and those of the French Impressionists, as seen in original Pre-Raphaelite and Impressionist frames. Roberts is an art historian specializing in the history of picture frames, of all periods from the…

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Lecture | International Degas expert Xavier Rey on Degas and the Nude | NGV International

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Edgar Degas Woman in a tub c. 1883 pastel 70.0 x 70.0 cm Tate, London Bequeathed by Mrs A.F. Kessler 1983 (T03563) © Tate, London 2016

The nude figure was central to the art of Edgar Degas, and yet frequently the artist’s expansive body of work in this area has been overshadowed by focus on portraits and dancers. Listen in as Xavier Rey, Director of Collections, Musée d’Orsay explores the evolution of Degas’s nude, from the academic and historical approach of his early years to the role of the body in modernity. Xavier Rey is the Director of Collections at the Musée d’Orsay. He has curated numerous exhibitions including Degas and the Nude (2012); Degas. The Masterpieces of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris (2012-13) and Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from the Musée d’Orsay (2014-15). Date: Friday 8th July, 2.30pm Cost: Free, booking essential. Book via the NGV website: http://connect.ngv.vic.gov.au/single/SelectSeating.aspx?p=8686 Venue: Clemenger BBDO Auditorium, NGV International

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NGV acquires Degas sculpture

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Edgar Degas Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot (Second study) c. 1900–10, cast 1919–37 or later bronze 47.3 x 24.3 x 20.8 cm Czestochowski/Pingeot 59 (cast T) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Purchased with funds donated by Leigh Clifford AO and Sue Clifford, 2016

At today’s preview for the new Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition – Degas: A new vision – the NGV announced that one sculpture in the exhibition will be staying in Melbourne. Degas’s ‘Dancer looking at the sole of her right foot (Second study)’ has been purchased for the NGV collection with funds donated by Leigh and Sue Clifford. Many of Degas’ sculptures were unknown during his lifetime. After the poor reception of his now-famous ‘Little Dancer’ (a cast of which is in the exhibition) in 1881 he kept much of his work in sculpture secret. He modelled in wax and is known to have remade and often destroyed works. Around 150 wax studies were found in his studio when he died in 1917 and 74 of these were salvaged and cast in bronze by the Adrien-A. Hébrard Foundry, Paris, and their Milanese master craftsman Albino Palazzolo. The NGV’s new sculpture is…

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Floor Talk Series | Redefining Whistler | NGV International

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Starting this Sunday there are several floor talk from curators and other experts on aspects of the current ‘Whistler’s Mother’ exhibition at NGV. With his long mane of curly dark hair, monocle, tailored coat and French top hat, James McNeil Whistler was a showman and self-described ‘dandy’ Along with his theatrical public persona, he was an extraordinary painter and printmaker; creating some of the nineteenth century’s most radical and influential works. At a time when moral lessons and storytelling dominated British art, Whistler was an uncompromising aesthete. He believed in the visual and sensual qualities of art and design over practical, moral or narrative considerations. Hear contemporary voices and curators explore the mark made by Whistler on style, art and design in this floor talk series Redefining Whistler. Sun 10 Apr, 11am | Printmaking Past and Present Speakers Martin King, Senior…

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News | Whistler’s Portrait of the artist’s mother to visit the NGV in 2016

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The National Gallery of Victoria has announced that James McNeill Whistler’s portrait of his mother, called “Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1.” 1871, will be the focus of an exhibition at the NGV in 2016. The exhibition, Whistler’s Mother, will focus on this important painting by Whistler, which in 1891 became the first work by an American artist to be bought by the French State (it now resides in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris). The painting was not well received when it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Art in London, but went on to become one of the most popular of its day, though Whistler was often frustrated by the sentimental responses to it. The painting is evocatively described in a recent article by Peter Schjeldahl in the New Yorker where he writes: The painting represents the peak of Whistler’s radical method of modulating tones of single colors. The paint…

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Talk | Eugene Barilo von Reisberg: ‘Franz Xaver Winterhalter: Portraiture in the Age of Social Mobility’ | Melbourne University

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Eugene Barilo von Reisberg (Art History Program, School of Culture & Communication), PhD Completion Seminar: ‘Franz Xaver Winterhalter: Portraiture in the Age of Social Mobility’. For nearly four decades, from the early 1830s to the early 1870s, Franz Xaver Winterhalter (1805-1873) was among the most popular and highly sought-after, internationally-renowned elite portrait specialists, who enjoyed the patronage of royal, aristocratic and middle-class elites. This seminar will demonstrate that the artist’s success and popularity among the highest echelons of society were contingent upon his mimetic abilities, the rigorous application of his academic training, as well as the bold innovations of his technical approaches that placed him hors concours among fellow portrait practitioners of the era. Further, by using evidence from the biographies of Winterhalter’s sitters, the seminar will reassess his works as visual documents whose iconographic narratives: encapsulate the status and social mobility of his sitters; illustrate…

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News | NGV announces ‘Degas’ as the 2016 Melbourne Winter Masterpieces Exhibition

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The NGV today announced that next year’s Melbourne Winter Masterpieces exhibition would be Degas: A New Vision. The major retrospective is being developed by both the National Gallery of Victoria and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, it will open in June 2016 in Melbourne and then travel to Houston in October 2016. After two winter exhibitions based around collections (the Prado in 2014 and the Hermitage in 2015) the NGV is returning to an exhibition based around a single artist. The last such exhibition was Monet in 2013, though single artist exhibitions have been few and far between in the NGV’s winter programming. At the same time they are returning to familiar (and typically popular) territory with nineteenth-century French Art. Based on the announcement the Degas sounds like it will be a solid exhibition, led by Degas expert Henri…

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Seminar | S. T. Gill as eyewitness: art as historical evidence | State Library of Victoria

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This seminar is part of the Making Public Histories series. Celebrating the first-ever retrospective of one of Australia’s forgotten artists, S. T. Gill, this seminar reflects on Gill as an ‘eyewitness’ to colonial life in nineteenth century Australia. Join us for the inside story on how historians have used Gill’s works to make sense of the colonial past, from the Victorian goldfields to horse-racing. Chair: Associate Professor Alison Inglis, University of Melbourne Speakers: Emeritus Prof. Sasha Grishin (ANU, Exhibition curator), Dr Jan Croggon (Historian, Sovereign Hill Museums Association) and Dr Andrew Lemon (professional historian) This is a free event, but bookings are essential – click here to book. This event accompanies the current State Library of Victoria exhibition Australian sketchbook: Colonial life and the art of ST Gill. Date: September 29, 2020 at 6pm – 7:30pm Venue: State Library of…

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Symposium | Medieval Moderns – The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood | NGV International

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The National Gallery of Victoria has an outstanding collection of Pre-Raphaelite art (ranging from paintings and drawings to textiles and stained glass) – as is demonstrated by the current exhibition, Medieval Moderns: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. In conjunction with this exciting exhibition, various academics, curators and specialists will come together in a symposium to discuss the British Pre-Raphealite movement and its significance in Australia. The symposium will include a keynote lecture by visiting scholar Dr Barbara Bryant on Australia’s Pre-Raphaelite Collections: the People behind the Portraits. Full details here. Beginning with a guided tour of the exhibition Medieval Moderns: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood with curator Laurie Benson on the Friday morning, the program includes six sessions of speakers over two days. A detailed program available here. Presented in conjunction with the Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne. Speakers include Laurie Benson, Shane Carmody, Grace…

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Lecture | Barbara Bryant – Australia’s Pre-Raphaelite Collections: the People behind the Portraits | NGV International

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The idea of portraiture in Pre-Raphaelite art encompassed a new and exciting range of possibilities. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood painted portraits with a stark realism that was unlike anything seen before. The meaning of the formal portrait mutated into a more direct vision of a real person, while subject paintings gained new meanings as artists cast friends and family in new roles. Dr Barbara Bryant is an art historian and writer who specialises in the work of artists in nineteenth-century Britain. In this special lecture, Dr Bryant looks at the real individuals in the extended Pre-Raphaelite circles to explore their impact on the artistic practice of D.G. Rossetti, F.M Brown, J.E. Millais, E. Burne-Jones and G.F. Watts in the 1850s and 1860s with particular reference to works in Australian collections. This lecture is part of a symposium on the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.…

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Lecture: ‘In Every Respect Equal’: John Rogers Herbert (1810-1890) and the Monumental Moses | NGV

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In 1872 the NGV purchased a large mural of Moses Bringing Down the Tables of the Law by John Rogers Herbert, originally created for Parliament in London. However, it was more than a mere copy. Its earnest artist wrote that he wanted Melbourne to have an original, and he achieved this in a surprising way. Though it was initially popular with Melburnians, it was rolled up 70 years ago and hasn’t been on display since.  Now, unrolled at last, what can we discover about this enigmatic painting, concerned with law and justice? Speaker Dr Nancy Langham Hooper, art historian Date: 2pm–3pm, 14th June 2015 Venue: NGV International, Ground Level, Clemenger BBDO Auditorium Tickets:Cost $16 M / $20 A / $18 C Booking required: Code P1543, Ph +61 3 8662 1555, 10am–5pm daily Website: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/program/lecture-in-every-respect-equal-john-rogers-herbert-1810-1890-and-the-monumental-moses/?dateNo=0

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Lecture Series at NGV | The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

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The NGV is running a lecture series exploring the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as part of their current exhibition Medieval Moderns: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.  Sat 16 May: Laurie Benson, Curator, International Art ‘The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in the National Gallery of Victoria’ The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood are widely recognised as a the most dynamic group of artists to ever work in Britain. They radically shifted the goal-posts of the British art world, changing it forever. The NGV’s holdings of works by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood are world renowned. The Gallery has been consistently acquiring these works since the 1880s until today. Medieval Moderns is the first comprehensive exhibition of the NGV’s Pre Raphaelites for more than forty years and this talk will focus on the collecting of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood by the NGV. Sat 23 May: Dr Vivien Gaston, The University of Melbourne ‘Fantasy and Fidelity: Portraits by the…

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Exhibition Review | Medieval Moderns, National Gallery of Victoria | Monique Webber

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Medieval Moderns: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood,  NGV International, 11 April – 12 July 2020 The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB) burnt brightly and quickly. Forming in 1848, the seven original artists – John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, James Collinson, Thomas Woolner, William Michael Rossetti, and Frederic George Stephens – worked cohesively for little more than five years. Only Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti remained directly involved in the movement. While Hunt continued as a largely independent artist, Rossetti later became a driving force in the second generation of the Brotherhood centred around William Morris and Edward Burne-Jones. Despite the brevity of their activity, the PRB had a profound influence upon the Industrial era. Rejecting the enforced hierarchies of beauty and genre of the Academy, they adopted Ford Madox Brown’s search for humanity and nature in art. Their aim to revitalise…

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