Reviews on Inside Out Upside Down Gallery Site
Victorian Visions, Nineteenth Century Art from the John Schaeffer Collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
This exhibition presents a selection of the John Schaffer Collection. The point at which the exhibition ends is late World War One, other works in the collection from post this date are not represented. This is a fine and stunning collection that I was very impressed by. The accompanying book by Richard Beresford is as brilliant as the paintings themselves, revealing insights into each painting and their reception when first exhibited.
Artists represented are Richard Redgrave, John Lynell, Daniel Maclise, Edward Ward, James Collison, James Archer, William Holman Hunt, Frederick Sandys, Joseph Paton, Thomas Faed, Edward Poynter, G.F. Watts, Lord Leighton, Thomas Cooper, Edward Burn Jones, D.G. Rossetti, E. Blair Leighton, W.H. Thornycroft, Frank Dicksee, Ann Lea Merritt, J.W. Waterhouse, S. Solomon, E. Onslow Ford, Albert Gilbert, R. Spencer Stanhope, E.R. Hughes, H.A. Pegram, S.J. Solomon, Evelyn De Morgan, Byam Shaw, Artus Wolffort, Ary Scheffer, Constant Troyon, Fix Masseau, Francois Sicard, E. Maxence, G. A. Mossa. A list that is broad enough to give a very wide view of at least English art, if a little thin on European art.
The exhibition is largely in the temporary exhibition space of the modern wing of the gallery. Only S.J. Solomon's Eve is separated, being hung in the Grand Gallery, due to the size of the painting which is too high to hang in the modern wing. This separation however is not a problem, as the viewer will see the Shaeffer Gallery with its fine Waterhouse, Leighton, Poynter, Tadema, Millais, Ford Madox Brown from the AGNSW Collection.
The modern wing spaces are a little small for these works, particularly when they are hung in the third bay which is an odd shape intended for relatively small modern works. The central bay is well sized for the works that are hung in it and the impact of these paintings is fully appreciated. Waterhouse's Miriamne is opposite Holman Hunts Il dolce far niente, both staggering works and being able to turn from one to the other across a ten meter space is very effective.
Lighting is not a great problem, though it is hard to see the surface of Miriamne is you want to look at the brush work. The glare from the drop lights makes it impossible to see well except on the bottom half of the painting. For the general public this would present no problem, the painting can be fully appreciated from a distance.
The dark and lush colour of the walls plays down the brilliant colour of the paintings, perhaps to ease the public who are so used to suppressed palettes. I'm not being too critical here as I felt that this was a beautifully presented exhibition of beautiful works. The AGNSW has done fine job in developing the exhibition space within its physical constraints.
For anyone that is not a died in the wool abstractionists I recommend this exhibition as worth seeing. Great works, in a great collection and the exhibition which runs till 29 August 2010, does not have an entry cost.
author: Neil Miley