John Russell: Australia’s French Impressionist

This vivid, beautiful and important exhibition shows the Sydney-born Australian artist John Peter Russell in an international context.

Generally starting and ending with works created in Australia, the exhibition invites the visitor to undergo a “time travel” experience through Russell’s life in Europe, finishing up with a special painting: the impressive picture of Marianna in pointillist technique.

Exhibiting drawings as well as some paintings, including the famous portraits of Vincent van Gogh, the visitor gets a great view of the painter’s talent straight away.

Following up with some beautiful Japonismé blossom paintings, visitors then enter Belle-Ile-en-Mer, where Russell spent 20 years of his life time. 

After some time in Antibes where he mostly produced beautiful landscape paintings, the exhibition provides a great picture section of the Rough Sea, where the wild environment of Belle-Ile, with its great and powerful western coastline, inspired him and is certainly one of the highlights of this exhibition. 

Being friends with Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, August Rodin and Henri Matisse, Russell learned but also taught a lot about the new techniques of impressionism.

Cooperating with many private and public collections worldwide, as well as the Russell Family itself, the exhibition presents incredible work not only from Russell but also from all the other great European impressionist artists.

Visitors can clearly see Russell’s development. He got more confident, more cursory and expressive, more experimental. While he never went as far as his peers, he increasingly used strong colours and contrasts. The outdoor-loving artist captured colour and light, creating extraordinary works now finally being exhibited in his birth city.

Until Nov 11. Art Gallery Of New South Wales, Art Gallery Rd, Sydney. $8-$20+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

By Lili Sekkai