Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/11343/280

Filters

2001 1
1
Reset filters

Settings
Statistics
Citations
End date: 2001 × Start date: 2001 × Type: PhD thesis × Subject: 19th century Australian art ×

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Item
    Thumbnail Image
    Illuminating nature: the art and design of E.L. Bateman (1816-1897)
    Neale, Anne ( 2001)
    Edward La Trobe Bateman [1816-1897] was an English artist and designer who lived and worked in Victoria from 1852 to 1869. He came from an extraordinary family that included the head of the Moravian Church in England [Christian Ignatius La Trobe, 1758-1836]; the founder of the architectural profession in the United States [Benjamin Henry Latrobe, 1764-1820]; the Lieutenant-Governor of the colony of Victoria [Charles Joseph La Trobe, 1801-1875]; and the leading hydraulic engineer in Victorian Britain [John Frederic Bateman, 1810-1889]. In England in the late 1840s and early 1850s, Bateman was a close associate of the young artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, and worked with the influential design reformer, Owen Jones. Bateman's talents in art and design were applied across a wide range of media. His work in Australia and Britain is examined under the headings of Illumination, Chromolithography & Book Design; Drawing & Painting; Landscape Design; and Decorative Art & Architecture, including interior design, textile design and pattern design. In each field his work is identified, described and analysed, often for the first time, and an attempt is made to evaluate the significance of Bateman's contribution to 19th century developments in that area. The consistent theme uniting Bateman's work in disparate fields is that of 'illuminating Nature'. This applies both literally and metaphorically. In his art and design Bateman shed light upon the exquisite beauties of Nature, not simply for its own sake, but with an awareness that a heightened perception of such subjects might also be a path to spiritual enlightenment. Bateman's sensitivity to 'illuminating Nature', and his exceptional capacity to illuminate Nature for the benefit of others, resulted in a unique body of work, the extent and significance of which has not previously been recognised.