James Gleeson

(Australia 21 Nov 1915–20 Oct 2008)

Title

Italy

Year

1951

Media category

Painting

Materials used

oil on canvas

Dimensions

127.5 x 96.8cm stretcher; 148.3 x 117.5 x 4.2cm frame

Signature & date

Signed l.r. corner, red oil "Gleeson". Signed and dated u.l. [on tablet above entablature on building in background], brown and white oil "JA GLEESON/ .../ MCMLI".

Credit

Purchased 1952

Accession number

8595

Copyright

Location

Not on display

Further information

Gleeson spent three months living in Italy in 1948.

"It was my first encounter with the classical world, in situ, as it were ... and it set up a very real conflict for me. I had always been drawn towards the darker, less logical, more mysterious ethos of Northern European artists ... Theirs was a world in which man was by no means the measure of all things, but only a part of the turbulent, violent, and usually inexplicable forces of nature.
In Italy I encountered a very different view. Man was centre stage - the measure of all things ... In this Classical or neo-Platonic view, man was created in the image of God, or the gods were conceived in the image of man and the notion of human perfectibility, in the sense that a human being can become god-like, is implicit.
Michelangelo and other sculptors and painters pushed me towards this conception and it was to play a dominant role in determining my aesthetic route for the next twenty years or more."
- James Gleeson 1993

Australian Art Department, AGNSW, 2000

Bibliography (5)

Herbert Badham, A gallery of Australian art, 'Introduction', pg. v-vii., Sydney, 1954, xii, illus.. plate no. 64

Christopher Heathcote, Art Monthly Australia Mar 2005, '"James Gleeson: Beyond the screen of sight" at the National Gallery of Victoria', pg. 26-29, Acton, Mar 2005, 28 (colour illus.).

Anne Ryan, James Gleeson: drawings for paintings 2003, 'Refined Destruction! Dainty Horror!', pg. 19-28, Domain, 2003, 21, 51 (colour illus.).

Clive Turnbull, Jean Campbell and Daniel Thomas, Australian painting: colonial, impressionist, contemporary 1962, Adelaide, 1962, 43. cat.no. 116

Author Unknown, The Adelaide Festival of Arts 1962: Special exhibitions at the National Gallery of South Australia 1962, 'Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary', Adelaide, 1962. not paginated, cat.no. 130

Exhibition history (7)

A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953

Australian Painting: Colonial, Impressionist, Contemporary (1962-63):

National Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide 17 Mar 1962–31 Mar 1962
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Australia 23 Sep 1962–24 Oct 1962
Tate Britain, England 24 Jan 1963–03 Mar 1963
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ottawa Apr 1963–May 1963
Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver 06 Jun 1963–22 Jun 1963

Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000

Beauty and the beast: the art of James Gleeson, War Memorial Art Gallery, University of Sydney, Sydney, 28 Aug 2002–03 Oct 2002

James Gleeson: drawings for paintings, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 12 Apr 2003–15 Jun 2003

James Gleeson: Beyond the screen of sight:

Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia, Melbourne 29 Oct 2004–27 Feb 2005
National Gallery of Australia, Australia 18 Mar 2005–13 Jun 2005

Australian modern masterpieces from the Art Gallery of New South Wales:

Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Ballarat 05 Oct 2011–27 Nov 2011
Newcastle Region Art Gallery, Newcastle 10 Dec 2011–04 Mar 2012

Collection

James Gleeson