General News
14 September, 2023
Corangamite’s history painted
WORKS from artist Eugene von Guerard showing the Corangamite area have been complied into a special display at the Camperdown Courthouse by local artists Joan Mahony and Isha Paasse.
WORKS from artist Eugene von Guerard showing the Corangamite area have been complied into a special display at the Camperdown Courthouse by local artists Joan Mahony and Isha Paasse.
The works were completed between 1856 and 1857, when von Guerard stayed in homesteads within the area in exchange for a commissioned work of the view.
Joan Mahony said she had never known the artist had sketched near Mount Elephant in Derrinallum, where she would wait for the school bus to pick her up.
“We were never taught about him in school; there was never discussion in the community about this famous painter, which is quite extraordinary,” she said.
“It was me yapping all the time about how marvelous von Guerard was in depicting the landscape, and then Isha started to research it.
“I knew there was at least 10 famous landscapes close to Camperdown, including three in Bookaar, and Isha turned up another 50 which are actually in Corangamite.
“It is important that people research von Guerard and find out exactly what’s here because it’s so special.”
The sketches, which served as ideas for oil paintings once he returned to his studio, allowed von Guerard to capture highly detailed landscapes with accuracy.
A painting of Warrnambool’s Tower Hill from 1855 was used to revegetate the area in 1966.
Eugene von Guerard died in London at age 90, where he still had 47 of his sketchbooks; many of his works are now in the State Library of New South Wales or on display in galleries.
Isha Paasse said her compilation has received an “amazing” response from Instagram and Facebook, despite only posting about it on Monday.
“People don’t know. Von Guerard is like our Van Gogh of Australia,” she said.
“I’ve also got the shire on board, and they’re interested in doing a proper arts trail around here.
“There weren’t cameras back then, so we’re so fortunate he came here for a year.
“I’ll tell you as an outsider looking in, who knew nothing about von Guerard, it gives me a deeper understanding of where I live, and it makes people think.”
Ms Paasse said people have been contacting her with fascination about Eugene’s life and works.
“What an amazing gift we have; all this knowledge I brought out by doing this,” she said.
“It’s also about the fact that art and history work together, and no-one else in Australia has done an arts trail or mentioned him.”
Ms Mahony said she hopes people gain further knowledge of Eugene’s works and nbe able to research him more themselves.
“Look it up on the internet, and just appreciate how lucky we are to have the fact that he had recorded it,” she said.
Magnetic postcards of Eugene’s artworks are on sale at the Courthouse as well, retailing for $5 a postcard.
