There is something immensely exhilarating when tall white gums tower into the blue heavens - the subtle quality of the edges where they meet the sky - how mysterious.

Letter from Heysen to Lionel Lindsay, 14 March (1926?), La Trobe Collection.

There is an undeniable call about this interior which covers by far the greater portion of Australia, and offers, for the artist, a wide field as yet practically untouched.

Article by Heysen in Art in Australia, s. 3, no. 44, June 1932, p. 20.

Historical Context
1937 was a year of planning and preparation for the celebrations to commemorate the 150th anniversary of European settlement in Australia. This same year also saw the Commonwealth and State Protectors of Aborigines come together to discuss strategies to support the Aboriginal population which had steadily declined from the original estimated count of 300,000 at the time of European settlement to 60,000 in 1937. Strategies included the request to stop the trade in opium, integration and special courts for Aboriginal people.

In Gippsland, hunters were paid a five shilling bonus for every wombat skin. This government supported project to 'combat the wombat' was intended to eliminate the pest which was destroying crops and land. Polio had reached epidemic levels throughout Australia. Victoria was the most affected and forty schools had to be closed down in the southern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

The first telephone service between Tasmania and the mainland was completed resulting in the largest submarine co-axial cable in the world. In November 1937 the royal blue and gold train known as the Spirit of Progress left Spencer Street Station watched by 1,000 officials for its inaugural trip to Geelong.

Melbourne was fast developing into the world's most urban city. However, for Melburnians the feeling of hope born in progress and prosperity was mingled with a sense of apprehension as the world witnessed the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War.

Background
Heysen trained as an artist in Adelaide. He showed such promise that between 1899 and 1903 four Adelaide patrons assisted him financially to study in Paris and visit various countries in Europe.

Heysen's early paintings met with great success and in 1912 he acquired 'The Cedars', a property near Hahndorf, outside Adelaide. Here he built a studio in which he painted for the rest of his life. He visited the Flinders Ranges in 1926 and returned annually until 1933, his last visit to the area was in 1949.

Influence
Heysen adapted his European experience and instruction to his Australian location. His early works show rural labourers and stock set in nostalgically heroic settings, which were derived from a broad base, but especially the Barbizon artists Jean Millet and Camille Corot, and the heroic tradition of the Heidelberg school. Heysen's paintings of the Australian interior are different from his earlier work and show Australia as nobly austere. His depiction of light in these paintings is linked to Arthur Streeton and the French impressionists, however the light of the Flinders Ranges was in itself a great influence.

Technique and Materials
Heysen placed great importance on draughtsmanship. His masterly control of line, shape and volume was the result of many hundreds of drawings executed on location and in his studio. The composition of his highly finished studio works was often derived from a combination of several direct studies from nature made at various times and locations. Sometimes his oil paintings were worked up and altered over a number of years. Even some watercolours were commenced but left unfinished until years later when the final touches would be added.

The Painting
Heysen's first trip to the Flinders Ranges was so overwhelming that he felt unable to paint his experience. After many return visits and much experimentation he eventually was to become known not just as the painter of gum trees, but also as the painter of Australia's interior. The water colour Guardian of the Brachina Gorge of 1937 was executed in his Hahndorf studio from various drawings done on location in the 1930s.

The painting is dominated by three gnarled gum trees in the foreground. The trees are bare of leaves but it is not clear whether they are dead or living. The Guardian, the rocky mountain in the background, is painted with great clarity. The outline of the Guardian is reflected in the triangular framing formation of the gum trees and its internal physical structure is echoed by the forceful diagonal thrust of the trees.

Heysen's contribution was to present us with the absolute clarity of light and colour of inland Australia. All objects in this scene are united by the clear light which reveals them in sharp focus. He avoids the blending and softness usually associated with watercolour.

Heysen depicts a sublime landscape that is dominated by the mountain, a waterway carved out in some bygone era and monumental gum trees. In this enduring environment, with its bright light, dryness and heat, nature overpowers and man is reduced to being an onlooker.

(1) Ian North, Hans Heysen: Centenary Retrospective Art Gallery of South Australia 1977 p.13.