GUERARD, Eugene, (French, 1811-1901): Panoramic Italianate Landscape with Figures, signed and dated 1844, Dussel.d., OIL/Canvas/Mounted on Masonite, 24 1/2'' x 34 1/4'', later gilded gesso frame, 30 1/2'' x 40 1/4''. Guerard was born in Austria, his father was a miniaturist and court painter to the Emporer. He eventually moved in Rome, where he was involved with the Nazarenes. Guerard studied in Dusseldorf, moved to Australia, and after an unsuccessful stint as a gold digger, he became recognized as the foremost landscape artist in the colonies. Guerard is most known for the wilderness paintings produced during this time, which are remarkable for their detail. His View of Tower Hill in South Western Victoria was used as a botanical template over a century later when the land, which had been laid waste and polluted by agriculture, was systematically reclaimed, forested with native flora and made a state park. The scientific accuracy of such work has led to a reassessment of Guerard's approach to wilderness painting, and historians believe it likely that the artist was strongly influenced by the environmental theories of the leading scientist Alexander von Humboldt. In 1866 his ''Valley of the Mitta Mitta'' was presented to the national gallery at Melbourne; in 1870 the trustees purchased his ''Mount Kosciusko''. In 1870 von Guerard was appointed the first Master of the School of Painting at the National Gallery of Victoria, where he was to influence the training of artists for the next 11 years.
CONDITION: Cracklure throughout, paint is firmly adhered, recently cleaned, ready to hang, several much older spots of repair with touches of minor inpaint.