True to nature? Fidelity and transformation in Eugene von Guérard’s antipodean landscape paintings
- Authors: Hook, George
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: When the leading mid-nineteenth-century landscape artist in Victoria, Eugene von Guérard, was criticised for failing to illustrate nature sublimely, he replied that his “greatest desire” was to “imitate nature” as far as it was “compatible with the effect of the picture.” Later, he asserted that his aim was “to be true to nature as far as possible” in his art. This empirical, science-informed thesis explores what being “true to nature” meant in Guérard’s practice by examining natural features typically illustrated with fidelity, scrutinising features freely transformed for artistic effect, and assessing whether such transformations compromise his aesthetic ideal. The fieldwork-based study addresses a knowledge gap in Australian art history and environmental history by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach. The findings make a significant contribution to understanding what being “true to nature” meant for Guérard, and to determining whether his landscapes are reliable environmental history records. The investigation uses a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Early in-depth case studies identified faithfully rendered and freely modified features, which informed the development of an innovative survey instrument used to evaluate the fidelity of over a hundred of Guérard’s Antipodean landscapes. The extent to which natural features are faithful or transformed is subjectively assessed by comparing them with his accurate field drawings and modern site photographs taken from his vantage points. The novel reverse use of digital elevation models enabled many of his vantage points at sites to be precisely determined. Statistical analysis of survey data and further case studies leads to the conclusion that Guérard practised selective fidelity to nature. Although no natural feature was totally immune to being modified for artistic effect, many features are typically reproduced with great fidelity to the natural scenery visible at the site. Features significantly altered to create visually engaging or dramatic landscapes are usually found to be true to the natural history of the location, if not necessarily to the view. Exceptions are largely restricted to the composite landscapes that field research uncovered. Finally, the thesis examines whether Guérard’s fidelity practice resonates with particular purported influences, or parallels the practices of international contemporaries who were also renowned for their wilderness paintings.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
- Authors: Hook, George
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Thesis , PhD
- Full Text:
- Description: When the leading mid-nineteenth-century landscape artist in Victoria, Eugene von Guérard, was criticised for failing to illustrate nature sublimely, he replied that his “greatest desire” was to “imitate nature” as far as it was “compatible with the effect of the picture.” Later, he asserted that his aim was “to be true to nature as far as possible” in his art. This empirical, science-informed thesis explores what being “true to nature” meant in Guérard’s practice by examining natural features typically illustrated with fidelity, scrutinising features freely transformed for artistic effect, and assessing whether such transformations compromise his aesthetic ideal. The fieldwork-based study addresses a knowledge gap in Australian art history and environmental history by adopting a multi-disciplinary approach. The findings make a significant contribution to understanding what being “true to nature” meant for Guérard, and to determining whether his landscapes are reliable environmental history records. The investigation uses a mixed-method approach, combining qualitative and quantitative techniques. Early in-depth case studies identified faithfully rendered and freely modified features, which informed the development of an innovative survey instrument used to evaluate the fidelity of over a hundred of Guérard’s Antipodean landscapes. The extent to which natural features are faithful or transformed is subjectively assessed by comparing them with his accurate field drawings and modern site photographs taken from his vantage points. The novel reverse use of digital elevation models enabled many of his vantage points at sites to be precisely determined. Statistical analysis of survey data and further case studies leads to the conclusion that Guérard practised selective fidelity to nature. Although no natural feature was totally immune to being modified for artistic effect, many features are typically reproduced with great fidelity to the natural scenery visible at the site. Features significantly altered to create visually engaging or dramatic landscapes are usually found to be true to the natural history of the location, if not necessarily to the view. Exceptions are largely restricted to the composite landscapes that field research uncovered. Finally, the thesis examines whether Guérard’s fidelity practice resonates with particular purported influences, or parallels the practices of international contemporaries who were also renowned for their wilderness paintings.
- Description: Doctor of Philosophy
Salinity on the southeastern Dundas Tableland, Victoria
- Dahlhaus, Peter, MacEwan, Richard, Nathan, Erica, Morand, Vincent J
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , MacEwan, Richard , Nathan, Erica , Morand, Vincent J
- Date: 2000
- Type: Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences Vol. 47, no. 1 (2000), p. 3-11
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Historical evidence of early salinity, vegetation and landuse changes, and pedological studies have been used in formulating a new model for salinity processes acting on the Dundas Tableland in southwestern Victoria. Contrary to previous assumptions, salinity in this area was a feature of the pre-European landscape and was noted in the earliest surveys and journals. Analysis of historical records show an initial post-settlement increase in the tree numbers, followed by a rapid decline much later than previously assumed. Accumulation of salts in the regolith may be attributed to marine incursions during the Miocene and Pliocene, the extensive weathering to develop a deep regolith, and wind-blown and cyclic salt accumulation. A trend analysis of historical streamflow and bore hydrograph records does not indicate rising groundwater levels. The pedological features of duplex and sodic soil profiles support a history of prolonged seasonal waterlogging. A model with seasonal lateral flow of water through the upper regolith can better account for the spread of salinity than the rising groundwater hypothesis. By control of waterlogging, land managers could improve soil structure, enhance root growth and soil water use, as well as inhibit the spread of salinity.
- Authors: Dahlhaus, Peter , MacEwan, Richard , Nathan, Erica , Morand, Vincent J
- Date: 2000
- Type: Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Earth Sciences Vol. 47, no. 1 (2000), p. 3-11
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Historical evidence of early salinity, vegetation and landuse changes, and pedological studies have been used in formulating a new model for salinity processes acting on the Dundas Tableland in southwestern Victoria. Contrary to previous assumptions, salinity in this area was a feature of the pre-European landscape and was noted in the earliest surveys and journals. Analysis of historical records show an initial post-settlement increase in the tree numbers, followed by a rapid decline much later than previously assumed. Accumulation of salts in the regolith may be attributed to marine incursions during the Miocene and Pliocene, the extensive weathering to develop a deep regolith, and wind-blown and cyclic salt accumulation. A trend analysis of historical streamflow and bore hydrograph records does not indicate rising groundwater levels. The pedological features of duplex and sodic soil profiles support a history of prolonged seasonal waterlogging. A model with seasonal lateral flow of water through the upper regolith can better account for the spread of salinity than the rising groundwater hypothesis. By control of waterlogging, land managers could improve soil structure, enhance root growth and soil water use, as well as inhibit the spread of salinity.
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