Tweet
Of the ten works [Charles Conder] showed at the September exhibition [with the Art Society in Sydney], only Circular Quay - Departure of the Orient (5001x4489 file) pointed forward. Painted largely in front of the subject from a hotel balcony overlooking the scene, it shows an edited version of the ferry berth at Circular Quay, revealing how little remained of the convict-built semi-circular wall that gave it its name. The cool grey tonalities and use of black were a striking contrast to the overwhelming sunburst of the other exhibits contributed by himself and the other Sydney artists. It struck a new, sophisticated note, inspired above all by Nerli's handling of rainy weather and urban views. The painting is experimental in its use of a high viewpoint, the strong controlling diagonals of the wharf, the cropped figures in the foreground and its overall tendency to encourage a vertical reading. Charles Conder - The Last Bohemian, By Ann Galbally
«I say, “After Stephane Mallarmé, after Paul Verlaine, after Gustave Moreau, after Puvis de Chavannes, after oour own verse,
after all our subtle colour and nervous rhythm, after the faint mixed tints of Conder, what more is possible?
After us the Savage God.”»
-W.B. Yeats, 1896
«I say, “After Stephane Mallarmé, after Paul Verlaine, after Gustave Moreau, after Puvis de Chavannes, after oour own verse,
after all our subtle colour and nervous rhythm, after the faint mixed tints of Conder, what more is possible?
After us the Savage God.”»
-W.B. Yeats, 1896
Comment