Collection
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Title
Beach scene, Sandringham
(circa 1889)
Artist
Girolamo Nerli
Italy, Australia, New Zealand
21 Feb 1860 - 24 Jun 1926
About
Italian-born and trained, Girolamo Nerli brought the influence of the Macchiaioli plein-air group to Australian painters, including Conder, Streeton and Roberts. Like the French Impressionists, the Macchiaioli were concerned with the portrayal of light – but they were more interested in conveying a metaphysical intensity rather than light’s momentary effects.
This scene depicts Sandringham beach on Port Phillip Bay near Melbourne, and shows Nerli’s preference for rapidly sketched atmospheric effects in muted tones, with small contrasting touches of brightness. The figures strolling along the shore are important compositional accents to an otherwise sparingly delineated coastal landscape.
Details
Date
(circa 1889)
Materials used
oil on cardboard
Dimensions
23.2 x 31.4 cm board; 33.6 x 41.5 x 2.0 cm frame
Signature & date
Signed l.l. corner, brown oil "GP [monogram]. Nerli". Not dated.
Credit
Purchased 1958
Accession number
9666
Shown in 5 exhibitions
Exhibition history
Purchases and Acquisitions for 1958, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 11 Feb 1959–08 Mar 1959
Ladies in Landscapes:
- Art Gallery of Ballarat, Ballarat 04 Nov 1974–27 Jan 1975
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney 06 Feb 1975–09 Mar 1975
On the Beach, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 08 Dec 1982–28 Dec 1982
Italian artists working in 19th century Australia (1993), S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 24 Sep 1993–21 Nov 1993
Plein-air painting in Europe 1780-1850, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Sep 2004–31 Oct 2004
Referenced in 7 publications
Bibliography
Purchases and Acquisitions for 1958 National Art Gallery of N.S.W., Sydney, 1958, 12. cat.no. 20
Michael Dunn, Nerli - An exhibition of paintings & drawings, 'The art of Girolamo Nerli 1860-1926', pg. 11-24, Dunedin, 1988, 22, 23, 34, 114 (illus.), 115. cat.no. 38
Charles Conder, Melbourne, 1972, (illus.).
The golden age of Australian painting - Impressionism and the Heidelberg school, Melbourne, 1969, 31 (illus.). cat.no. 30
Ron Radford., Ladies in Landscapes, 'Ladies in Landscapes', Ballarat, 1974, (illus.). cat.no. 26; catalogue entry and sepia toned reproduction; not paginated
On the beach, Sydney, 1982, 8 (illus.). cat.no. 3
Girolamo Pieri Nerli (1863-1926), Melbourne, 1976, 18, 19, 30, 33, (illus.).