Heidelberg School of Australian Impressionism, Melbourne see: Greatest Paintings Ever . History and Characteristics In fine art , the Heidelberg School refers to the group of 19th century Australian painters who worked together in the late 1880s and early 1890s, in 'artist-camps' throughout the rural area of Heidelberg, to the east of Melbourne. Seen as an important movement of modern art in Australia, it is known in particular for its landscape painting of the scenery in the Yarra and Gippsland region, and received its name in July 1891 from the American art critic, Sidney Dickinson. The dominant style of painting among the group was Impressionism , executed using the technique of plein air painting , which has led historians to label the movement Australian Impressionism . In fact, the term 'Heidelberg School' now embraces all 19th century Impressionist painters in Australia, including those in Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, and Adelaide - not just those in Melbourne.

Leading members of the original Melbourne group included Tom Roberts (1856-1931), Arthur Streeton (1867-1943), Charles Conder (1868-1909) and Fred McCubbin (1855-1917), while others associated with the group included: Walter Withers (1854-1914), John Longstaff (1861-1941), David Davies (1864-1939), Clara Southern (1861-1940), Jane Sutherland (1853-1928), Emanuel Phillips Fox (18651915) and Ethel Carrick Fox (18721951).

Impressionist landscape painting by members of the Heidelberg School can be seen in all the best art museums in Australia, including the National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra; the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne; the Art Gallery of South Australia (AGSA) in Adelaide; the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) in Sydney; the Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) in Brisbane; the Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) in Perth and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. Going Home (1889) National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. By Charles Conder. One of Conder's For a guide, see: Definition of Art . Art in Melbourne The evolution of Australian Impressionism is inextricably linked with the city of Melbourne, where it flourished in the 1880s because of the city's expanding economy and its cultural sophistication, as well as the rise in leisure time along with a corresponding rise in the sense of national identity.

The Australian Impressionists contribution to Victorian art (as a whole) were stimulated by the city's lively artistic climate and reflected a wide range of artistic influences, from traditional practice to the more progressive European modern art movements of plein-air painting, Aestheticism and Symbolism. Melbourne may have been the most cultural and artistic city in Australia, but few of the city's artists who were associated with the Heidelberg School were able to support themselves financially through their art alone - at least not until later in their careers. Roberts, for instance, worked as a photographer's assistant, while Streeton was a junior clerk before learning lithography , and Conder trained as a surveyor in New South Wales before finding a short-term career in illustration for the Illustrated Sydney News. And McCubbin worked in the family bakery business as well as a coach painter during his early art career. Nearly all the artists associated with the Heidelberg received at least some art training at the National Gallery School (NGS) in Melbourne, which opened its doors in 1870. Classes followed the European model, with students starting in the School of Design where they absorbed the fundamentals of drawing , outline drawing and modelling of form.

They progressed from drawing plaster casts of Greek and Roman statues to figure drawing from the human figure. The School of Painting taught traditional painting skills, including compositional skills and the academic method of building up a painting in multi-layers, starting with thin paint and dark tones, and ending with thicker paint and lighter tones. During the 1870s and 1880s, emigrant artists from Europe brought first-hand experience of new forms of international art to Australia.

They included: the Irish-born George Frederick Folingsby (182891), who arrived in Australia in 1879 and became Master of the School of Painting at the NGS in 1882; the Swiss artist Abram Louis Buvelot (181488) who arrived in 1865 and taught at the Carlton School of Design in Melbourne; the English-born art teacher Julian Ashton (18511942) who settled in Sydney where he ran one of the best art schools in New South Wales; the English-born plein-air specialist A.J.Daplyn (18441926) who arrived in Australia in 1882 and shared his experience of Fontainebleau and the Barbizon School of landscape painting , before later writing a book entitled Landscape Painting from Nature in Australia (1902); the Italian-born painter Girolamo Pieri Ballati Nerli (18601926), influenced by the Macchiaioli group , who first lived in Melbourne before moving to Sydney in 1886; the Portuguese-born plein-air artist and Symbolist painter Arthur Jose De

 Souza Loureiro (18531932).

9 by 5 Impression Exhibition (1889) One of the most important group shows staged by members of Melbourne's Heidelberg group was the 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition, held in 1889 at Buxton's Rooms, by the Melbourne Town Hall. Named after the dimensions of most of its paintings - 9 by 5 inches, which represented the size of a cigar box lid on which many of the pictures were painted - and its style of Impressionism, the show featured 183 works (a third of which survive in public collections throughout Australia) and - like Impressionist Exhibitions in Paris - received a mixed response from the art critics . The main participants included Charles Conder, who worked as an artist for the Illustrated Sydney News, and was a member of the Art Society of New South Wales; Tom Roberts, the Royal Academy-trained painter and Melbourne picture-frame-maker; and Arthur Streeton, the Geelong artist who was an ardent admirer of Turner as well as the French Impressionists.

Another important Australian Impressionist who participated was Frederick McCubbin, an instructor and master of the School of Design at the National Gallery of Victoria, who in fact taught both Conder and Streeton. Many members of the Heidelberg School who exhibited at the show also belonged to the Victorian Artists Society, founded in Melbourne in 1856, which was the fore-runner of the Victorian Academy of Arts, set up in 1870. Australian Impressionist Art The term Heidelberg School came about only because Streeton, Conder and Roberts spent two summers living in a farmhouse at Heidelberg, painting the surrounding countryside. Roberts, however, did not spend much time at Heidelberg, Jane Sutherland - being a woman - was prevented from staying overnight and visited only during the day, and McCubbin didn't stay there at all. Furthermore, despite painting together at sites such as Box Hill and Heidelberg, and sharing some sense of group identity, none of the painters shared the same aesthetics . The principal defining element of the Heidelberg School was its open-air painting (plein-airism) similar to that taking place, in France, England, Europe and America.

(See also: Characteristics of Impressionist Painting 1870-1910.) Although rapidly executed oil sketches of outdoor scenery were an important part of the work of many 19th-century artists, most artists did not treat them as finished works of art, but as preliminary studies to be worked up and completed in studio. By contrast the Australian Impressionists - like their Parisian counterparts Camille Pissarro (1830-1903) and Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) - treated these quick outdoor oil sketches as finished items. That said, the Heidelberg school was more in tune with the naturalist realism of Barbizon painter Jean-Francois Millet (1814-75), as developed by Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848-84) and the naturalism of the Hague school (for more, see Post Impressionism in Holland ), than the non-naturalism of Claude Monet (1840-1926).

True, 19th century Australian Impressionists did not venture as deep into the outback as did later representatives of modern Australian painting , like Russell Drysdale (1912-81) and Sidney Nolan (1917-92), but they succeeded for the first time in capturing the harsh sunlight, earthy colours, and distinctive features of the Australian hinterland. Naturalism So, while the Heidelberg School followed the general style of Impressionism, typified by bold loose brushstrokes, lack of clearly defined form, and a desire to create a faithful optical record of colour and light effects, it found its bright chromatic colour too extreme for use in Australia. This was because most Australian artists maintained a strong interest in Naturalism , and a commitment to creating a distinctly Australian style of realist painting that reflected local character and colour. As a result, Roberts, Streeton, McCubbin and Conder tended to use a more naturalist colour palette. Moreover, in quite a few of their paintings, they included elements of traditional academic art , such as figures painted with a clear, firm outline and strongly modelled form.

Note: for more about the connections between Realist and Impressionist art, see: Realism to Impressionism (1830-1900). Selected Paintings Among many outstanding Impressionist paintings by the Heidelberg School are the following: Charles Conder Herrick's Blossoms (1888) National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. A Holiday at Mentone (1888) Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide. Going Home (1889) National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Tom Roberts Allegro Con Brio, Bourke St West (c.188586) National Gallery of Australia. Blue Eyes and Brown (1887-88) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. Evening Train to Hawthorn (1889) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Woman at the Piano (1889) Art Gallery of South Australia. Shearing the Rams (1890) National Gallery of Victoria. Arthur Streeton Windy and Wet (1889) National Gallery of Victoria. Near Heidelberg (1890) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Fire's On, Lapstone Tunnel (1891) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. The Railway Station, Redfern (1893) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. The Point Wharf, Mosman Bay (1893) Private collection, Sydney. The Purple Noon's Transparent Might (1896) National Gallery of Victoria. Frederick McCubbin Lost (1886) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. The City's Toil (1887) Famdal Collection, Sydney. On the Wallaby Track (1896) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Down on His Luck (1889) Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth. The Pioneer (1904) National Gallery of Victoria. Clara Southern An Old Bee Farm (1900) National Gallery of Victoria. Jane Sutherland Obstruction, Box Hill (c.1885) Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. On the Last Tramp (1888) Private collection, Western Australia. The Mushroom Gatherers (c.1895) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

Further Information 1000+ images about Heidelberg School of Painters on Pinterest | Shearing, Toms and Visual arts Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Heidelberg School of Painters The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century, later described as Australian Impressionism. It originated in an outer suburb of Melbourne led by Arthur Streeton and Walter Withers but expanded throughout the country due to artists such as Tom Roberts, Charles Conder and Frederick McCubbin They sought to capture Australian life, the bush, and the harsh sunlight that typifies the country. Their work captures Australia's historical record leading up to Federation 257 Pins30.92k Followers Heidelberg School. (Book, 2013) [WorldCat.org] Find more libraries Librarian? Claim your library to Heidelberg School. [St Leonards, N.S.W.] : Axiom Australia, ©2013. Edition/Format: WorldCat Summary: This gloriously produced collection has been chosen as representative of the earliest works by gifted artist of the impressionist style.

All of whom spent time within the environs of Heidelberg between 1880 and the early 20th century. Even the casual observer would know many of these works, as such feel very comfortable with the Australian uniqueness of colour and country life. Bernard Smith in his influential history, Australian Painting 1788-1960, claimed that the Heidelberg School was a distinctive Australian school of painting with its beginnings between 1885 to 1890 and was due largely to the energy and vision of Tom Roberts to begin with. To this day, there remains a healthy discourse among art historians as to the definition and thus which artists to include when discussing the Heidelberg School. However, this collection of paintings has been lovingly selected not only as a representation of the leading artists from the Heidelberg School, Roberts, Streeton, McCubbin, Conder and Withers - but they have been chosen for their essence of a bygone era - the pioneer, the shearer, the drover, the rouseabout - all characters woven into Australia's rich tapestry - captured against the backdrop of ghostly gums, mountain ranges, rivers and seascapes.

Long before the homestead and townships became focal points, the Impressionist movement in Europe and the great British landscape artists had inspired this group of young artists living in Australia. With the camaraderie of the artist's camp where they lived in the open and allowed a deep emotional attachment to influence their broad quick brushstrokes, they created a rich tapestry of work which in a sense brought Australia not only to the world's attention, but made Australians themselves re-connect to the uniqueness and beauty of this vast southern land and their pioneering forefathers. The works of the Heidelberg School remain front and centre for us as they are reinterpreted time and again by artists and advertisers: Tom Roberts, Shearing the Rams, being the most obvious example. Many a piece of ephemera is bought and cherished because it carries some representation from the Australian Impressionists. The influence and the importance of the Heidelberg School remains one of the chief reasons for today's visitors to art galleries. Read more... Rating: You are connected to the University of Washington Libraries network Hide local services for this item OCLC FirstSearch Add library to Favorites Please choose whether or not you want other users to be able to see on your profile that this library is a favorite of yours.

Allow this favorite library to be seen by others Keep this favorite library private Find a copy in the library Finding libraries that hold this item... Details 264 pages : color illustrations ; 27 x 27 cm Abstract: This gloriously produced collection has been chosen as representative of the earliest works by gifted artist of the impressionist style. All of whom spent time within the environs of Heidelberg between 1880 and the early 20th century. Even the casual observer would know many of these works, as such feel very comfortable with the Australian uniqueness of colour and country life. Bernard Smith in his influential history, Australian Painting 1788-1960, claimed that the Heidelberg School was a distinctive Australian school of painting with its beginnings between 1885 to 1890 and was due largely to the energy and vision of Tom Roberts to begin with. To this day, there remains a healthy discourse among art historians as to the definition and thus which artists to include when discussing the Heidelberg School.

However, this collection of paintings has been lovingly selected not only as a representation of the leading artists from the Heidelberg School, Roberts, Streeton, McCubbin, Conder and Withers - but they have been chosen for their essence of a bygone era - the pioneer, the shearer, the drover, the rouseabout - all characters woven into Australia's rich tapestry - captured against the backdrop of ghostly gums, mountain ranges, rivers and seascapes. Long before the homestead and townships became focal points, the Impressionist movement in Europe and the great British landscape artists had inspired this group of young artists living in Australia. With the camaraderie of the artist's camp where they lived in the open and allowed a deep emotional attachment to influence their broad quick brushstrokes, they created a rich tapestry of work which in a sense brought Australia not only to the world's attention, but made Australians themselves re-connect to the uniqueness and beauty of this vast southern land and their pioneering forefathers. The works of the Heidelberg School remain front and centre for us as they are reinterpreted time and again by artists and advertisers: Tom Roberts, Shearing the Rams, being the most obvious example.

Many a piece of ephemera is bought and cherished because it carries some representation from the Australian Impressionists. The influence and the importance of the Heidelberg School remains one of the chief reasons for today's visitors to art galleries. Reviews Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Be the first. Add a review and share your thoughts with other readers. Be the first. Tags Add tags for "Heidelberg School.". Be the first. Similar Items schema:datePublished "2013" ; schema:description "This gloriously produced collection has been chosen as representative of the earliest works by gifted artist of the impressionist style. All of whom spent time within the environs of Heidelberg between 1880 and the early 20th century. Even the casual observer would know many of these works, as such feel very comfortable with the Australian uniqueness of colour and country life. Bernard Smith in his influential history, Australian Painting 1788-1960, claimed that the Heidelberg School was a distinctive Australian school of painting with its beginnings between 1885 to 1890 and was due largely to the energy and vision of Tom Roberts to begin with.

To this day, there remains a healthy discourse among art historians as to the definition and thus which artists to include when discussing the Heidelberg School. However, this collection of paintings has been lovingly selected not only as a representation of the leading artists from the Heidelberg School, Roberts, Streeton, McCubbin, Conder and Withers - but they have been chosen for their essence of a bygone era - the pioneer, the shearer, the drover, the rouseabout - all characters woven into Australia's rich tapestry - captured against the backdrop of ghostly gums, mountain ranges, rivers and seascapes. Long before the homestead and townships became focal points, the Impressionist movement in Europe and the great British landscape artists had inspired this group of young artists living in Australia. With the camaraderie of the artist's camp where they lived in the open and allowed a deep emotional attachment to influence their broad quick brushstrokes, they created a rich tapestry of work which in a sense brought Australia not only to the world's attention, but made Australians themselves re-connect to the uniqueness and beauty of this vast southern land and their pioneering forefathers.

The works of the Heidelberg School remain front and centre for us as they are reinterpreted time and again by artists and advertisers: Tom Roberts, Shearing the Rams, being the most obvious example. Many a piece of ephemera is bought and cherished because it carries some representation from the Australian Impressionists. The influence and the importance of the Heidelberg School remains one of the chief reasons for today's visitors to art galleries."@ en ; 1000+ images about Art | The Heidelberg School on Pinterest | The pioneer, December and Toms Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Art | The Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. The movement has latterly been described as Australian Impressionism. The works of these artists are notable, not only for their merits as compositions, but as part of Australia's historical record. The period immediately before Federation is the setting for many classic Australian stories of the "bush", both fact and fiction.

91 Pins368 Followers Heidelberg School Heidelberg School Our certified translators provide translation for: academic transcripts brochures for print or web drivers license (except for use in NSW) death certificate medical documents Translation for Visa Applications We regularly provide translation documents required for immigration purposes in Australia. Get a quote, confirm the price is right, and receive your NAATI certified translation by post. We also translate all personal documents required for legal purposes. Business Translation Business or legal translation assignments, big or small, are treated with meticulous care and confidentiality. Our translators provide translation and proofreading for: Business proposals Formal letters, legal documents About Heidelberg School The Heidelberg School was an Australian art movement of the late 19th century. The movement has latterly been described as Australian Impressionism. The term was coined in July 1891 by local art critic Sidney Dickenson, reviewing the works of Melbourne-based artists Arthur Streeton and Walter Withers. Dickenson noted that these artists, whose works were mostly painted in the Heidelberg area, could be considered as "The Heidelberg School". Since that time, The Heidelberg School has taken on a wider meaning and covers Australian artists of the late nineteenth century who painted plein-air in the impressionist tradition.

These artists were inspired by the beautiful landscapes of the Yarra and the unique light that typifies the Australian bush. The works of these artists are notable, not only for their merits as compositions, but as part of Australia's historical record. The period immediately before Federation is the setting for many classic Australian stories of the "bush", both fact and fiction. The School's work provides a visual complement to these tales and their images have embedded themselves into Australia's historical subconscious. Many of the artworks can be seen in Australian galleries, notably the National Gallery of Victoria, the National Gallery of Australia and the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery. The name refers to the then rural area of Heidelberg east of Melbourne where practitioners of the style found their subject matter, though usage expanded to cover other Australian artists working in similar areas. The core group painted there on several occasions at "artist's camps" in the late 1880s and early 1890s. Besides Arthur Streeton and Walter Withers, other major artists in the movement included Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and Charles Conder. 1 .

Australia Translation Agency Heidelberg School - Google Arts & Culture Heidelberg School 1886 - 1900 Group of artists active in the late 19th century in Heidelberg, a suburb of Melbourne, who introduced plein-air Impressionism to Australia. The most important members were Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder. Read more Heidelberg School | australia.gov.au Heidelberg School Frederick McCubbin, Lost, 1886, oil on canvas. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria: 1077-4. The first important art movement in Australia was the 'Heidelberg School'. Today, the term refers to a number of artists, including Frederick McCubbin, Arthur Streeton and Tom Roberts, who painted scenes 'en plein air' (in the open air) of Australia, particularly in Melbourne and its surrounds. Over the years they were joined by other artists such as Charles Conder, Walter Withers, Louis Abrahams and Jane Sutherland. The 'Heidelberg School' refers to this fluid group of painters and the body of work they produced.

The term Heidelberg School originated in July 1891 when visiting American art critic Sidney Dickinson, wrote a review of an exhibition of paintings by Walter Withers and Arthur Streeton. 'Both these artists are of that practice which may be called, for purposes of distinction, the 'Heidelberg School' for their work has been done chiefly in this attractive suburb, where, with others of like inclination, they have established a summer congregation for out-of-door painting.' Sidney Dickinson in The Australian Critic, 1 July 1891 Their works are celebrated today because they were among the first artists, and some of the most effective, to realistically depict the harsh beauty of the Australian landscape. The country was an inspiration to them and together they produced a large volume of work showing people, places and landscapes using 'impressionist' techniques that used quick, broad strokes to capture the light and colour they saw as they painted. In a different light - new ways of painting a new country When European artists first began recording their impressions of the Australian landscape, many of their images were quite similar to scenes common to England. Joseph Lycett, View upon the South Esk River, Van Diemens Land, 1825, Hand col. aquatint.

Image courtesy of the National Library of Australia: an7692969. For many decades, Australia was seen by many in terms of what it wasn't. It wasn't a soft and gentle land; the trees and plants weren't the same; and it wasn't a landscape that had been farmed and tamed for centuries. To the eyes of many new immigrants, Australia was lacking in that it did not have the attributes of the countries they had left. Everything about Australia was different and as artists struggled with these new and often harsh vistas, they painted what they knew, and knew they could paint well. As a result, the Australia of the early nineteenth century is often one of park-like green hills and bubbling streams bathed in a gentle light. In the 1880s, there was a rising nationalistic sentiment in the lead up to the centenary of white settlement in Australia, with debates about federation. Artists were encouraged to recognise and celebrate the unique qualities of the Australian landscape that made it so different to European landscapes. 'We cannot ... urge too strongly ...

how requisite it is that we should as soon as possible fill our National Gallery with representative works of our artists and our nation, its early historical scenes, and pictures of the true rude life that must have and did exist in the early days of the colony.' 'Tusque', 'The National Gallery: 'On the Line'' Australian Magazine, July 1886, p. 138 'The true rude life', 1885 - Arthur Streeton, Near Heidelberg, 1890, Oil on canvas. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria. The artists who formed the Heidelberg School were actively committed to creating an 'Australian' art where local character, colours, people and landscapes were captured on canvas. Impressionist and naturalist painting was studied and admired by Tom Roberts during a European tour in the early 1880s. On his return to Australia in 1885, his enthusiasm for these approaches was used to depict realistic Australian scenes and the techniques shared amongst his friends and students. With McCubbin, Roberts was particularly enthusiastic about the need to paint scenes of Australian life.

Rather than the pale light European artists were familiar with, Heidelberg School artists painted landscapes and scenes that glowed with the bright, blinding light of an Australian summer. 'I fancy large canvases all glowing and moving in the happy light, and others bright, decorative and chalky and expressive of the hot, trying winds and the slow, immense summer.' Frederick McCubbin in a letter to Tom Roberts. An exhibition of the works of Walter Withers and Arthur Streeton, in 1891 was not only testament to their success in conveying a sense of what Australia was really like, but that it was a place full of beauty, rich in inspiration and not the wilderness it was once considered to be. American art critic Sidney Dickinson, on seeing their works remarked: 'The golden glory of English Wheat-fields cannot excel the splendour of the wide wastes of grazing land under the dry sky of an Australian summer ... nor can the variegated hues of the American autumn much surpass the tints of the ripened Eucalyptus ...

' Sidney Dickinson in The Australian Critic, 1 July, 1891 A sense of place - Melbourne and surrounds During the 1880s and 1890s a number of painting sites were used by artists. Artists such as McCubbin and Roberts invited friends to join them painting outdoors at these sites over the years. Many of these sites were in what are now Melbourne suburbs - including Eaglemont, Heidelberg, East Ivanhoe, Mentone, Brighton and Beaumaris. , 1886, oil on canvas. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria. Box Hill Camp paintings 1886 - Late in 1885, Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and Louis Abrahams camped in a paddock of bushland owned by local farmer David Houston, several miles east of Melbourne in Box Hill. They set their tents up on the rise of a hill, just near what is now known as Gardiner's Creek. Although the site was only about a mile from Box Hill railway station, their paintings show idyllic natural settings. Jane Sutherland, Obstruction, 1887, oil on canvas.

Image courtesy of the The Art Gallery of Ballarat. The Artists' Camp was sketched by Roberts 'en plein air' and completed in 1886. It shows his friend McCubbin sitting on the ground as Abrahams shows him the chops that he has just cooked on the fire. 'Happy Box Hill ... the land sylvan as it ever was - tea-tree along the creek - young blue-gum twigs ... as the soft darkness fell ... we forgot everything, but the peace of it ... ' McCubbin in a letter to Roberts, 1914 Other artists joined them there, including Jane Sutherland, an American-born artist who made day trips to the site. Her visits to the area over the years resulted in many paintings including Obstruction (1887) which shows a vulnerable young girl not intimidated by the bush setting, but a menacing cow. Lost (1886) by Frederick McCubbin shows another young girl alone in the bush - a theme present in his later paintings and that may have picked up on a contemporary news story when a young girl was found safe after three weeks lost in the bush not far from Box Hill.

It was at Box Hill that McCubbin, already well educated and accomplished in art theory and practice, learnt the value of using a limited range of colours in related tones. McCubbin learnt from his friend, Tom Roberts whom he had met at art school in Melbourne and who had recently mastered this 'impressionist' method in London. Painting outdoors and using this technique, his paintings became more united and filled with light. Later, Arthur Streeton and Charles Conder also visited Box Hill, painting An evening with bathers and Orchard at Box Hill respectively, both in 1888. Tom Roberts, Slumbering sea, Mentone, 1887, oil on canvas. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria: A12-1980. Mentone holiday scenes 1886 - 87 The following summer of 1886 - 1887 Roberts, McCubbin and Abrahams again decamped to paint outdoors. This time they chose the beachside suburb of Mentone, in Melbourne's south as their temporary home.

It was here that they first met a young Arthur Streeton at Rickett's Point, a nearby rocky headland jutting into Port Phillip Bay. Later, Roberts described their first meeting: 'He was standing out on the wet rocks, painting there, and I saw that his work was full of light and air. We asked him to join us and that was the beginning of a long and delightful association.' Charles Conder, Ricketts Point, Beaumaris, 1890, oil on wood panel. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia: NGA 73.827. This bayside area of Melbourne became a haunt for artists, and many further visits were made by McCubbin and Roberts. Charles Conder, who first met Roberts in 1888, soon after arriving in Australia, was particularly taken with coastal scenes and produced a number of paintings of the area including A holiday at Mentone (1888). Conder pursued a coastal theme later in his career, painting numerous scenes of the beaches and coastlines of England and France in the early 1900s.

Heidelberg 1888 - 1890 Tom Roberts, A quiet day on Darebin Creek,1885, painting, oil on wood panel. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia: NGA 69.4. In 1888, Arthur Streeton was given the use of a large but dilapidated farmhouse in Eaglemont, near Heidelberg, a few miles north-east of Melbourne. Artists and friends, Charles Conder and Tom Roberts joined him, and the three painted there for two summers, joined by Frederick McCubbin, Walter Withers, Jane Sutherland and others. This region is one of the most well known of all the sites the Heidelberg School artists favoured. The vagaries of the surrounding country were captured by them in a vast number of paintings. Some of Australia's most celebrated artworks including Still glides the stream and shall forever glide (1890) and Golden Summer, Eaglemont (1889) were painted here. 'I sit on our hill of gold ... the wind seems sunburnt and fiery ... north-east the very long divide is beautiful, warm blue far far away all dreaming and remote ...

Yet as I sit here in the upper circle surrounded by copper and gold and smile joy ... all the light, glory and quivering brightness passes slowly and freely before my eyes ...' Arthur Streeton on the view from their farmhouse on the hill at Eaglemont Arthur Streeton, Golden Summer, Eaglemont, 1889, oil on canvas. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Australia. A number of years later when he was a celebrated artist in Europe and working in Paris, Conder later wrote to Roberts with fond longing of the time he spent near Heidelberg. 'Give me one summer again, with yourself and Streeton, the same long evenings, songs, dirty plates, and last pink skies. But these things don't happen, do they? And what's gone is over.' Melbourne city City life was also captured by the artists many of whom had studios in a building called Grosvenor Chambers. Located at Number 9 Collins Street it was Australia's first purpose built complex of artist's studios. Tom Roberts, By the Treasury, 1889, Oil on wood panel. Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Victoria.

Streeton, Roberts, Sutherland and Conder all worked there and during that time painted a number of city scenes, many of which were used in the artists' 1889 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition. 9 by 5 Impression Exhibition, 1889 '9 by 5' refers to the size of the paintings, many of which were painted on cigar box lids provided by Louis Abrahams, whose family owned a cigar importing business. The paintings evoke contemporary images of European cities with streets slick with rain and people hurrying about their business. They are also an interesting record of a city booming with wealth from the gold rush at the end of the nineteenth century and show an interesting mix of European-inspired architecture in a city which still has elements of the frontier about it. Many of sights in their paintings such as the Treasury Building and the Princess Theatre are still in use in the city today and are well-known landmarks. One of the 9 by 5 paintings by Conder relates an intimate encounter. On a rainy day on a busy Melbourne street, two dogs sniff one another.

Called How we lost poor Flossie (1890), it tells the story of how Frederick McCubbin's dog Flossie (the smaller of the two), set off with the other dog, never to return. Many years later, Frederick McCubbin's son Louis, in his capacity as the director of the Art Gallery of South Australia acquired the painting (and others by Heidelberg School artists) and this is where it remains to this day. The 9 by 5 Exhibition proved to be popular with members of the general public, but received harsh critical review, particularly from the art critic James Smith, of Melbourne newspaper The Argus . He wrote, in part, that none of the paintings in the exhibition should 'be regarded as a work of art. Neither is a painter's 'impression'. It is simply a record in colour of some fugitive effect which he sees, or professes to see, in nature...' In response to this review, Streeton, Roberts and Conder jointly wrote to the paper.

They defended their work and impressionist approach, stating: 'Any form of nature which moves us strongly by its beauty, whether strong or vague in its drawing, defined or indefinite in its light, rare or ordinary in its colour, is worthy of our best efforts' Charles Conder, How we lost poor Flossie (detail), 1890, oil on panel. Image courtesy of the Art Gallery of South Australia: 0.1176. Further afield - New South Wales Other areas were also favoured by the artists including the Hawkesbury River area near Sydney and some Sydney suburbs such as Coogee and Mosman. Streeton and Roberts, in particular, also made long trips to more rural areas of Australia and it was these trips that resulted in some of Australia's most iconic and celebrated artworks. The writings and recollections of the artists about these sites show a romantic nostalgia for the times they shared there, reverence for the beauty of the environment and, for some, a sense of pride and ownership that this land was their home. The sites were places of deep inspiration to the artists who were in awe of what they saw. Useful links

Question: The Heidelberg School was a 19th Century Impressionist art movement in which country?
Answer: Australia