August Friedrich Albrecht SCHENCK<br/> <em>Anguish</em> (1878) <!-- (recto) --><br /> <em>(Angoisse)</em><br /> oil on canvas<br /> 151.0 x 251.2 cm<br /> National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne<br /> Purchased, 1880<br /> p.307.6-1<br /> <!--4344-->

Emotionally charged

19th century Australian and European paintings from the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria

Waverley City Gallery (Monash Gallery of Art)
11 Jun – 8 Aug 99

Presented as the centrepiece of this exhibition was the painting Auguish, 1878 by August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck. Also featured in the exhibition were paintings predominantly belonging to the academic tradition by Aby Altson, Pierre-Marie Beyle, Emma Minnie Boyd, N.Carta, George Coates, Nicholas Gysis, St George Hare, Eugene-Ernest Hillemacher, Paul Joanowitch, Guillaume Koller, Frederick McCubbin, Albert Maignan, Bertha Mouchette and Briton Riviere.

Writing in the exhibition catalogue, Gordon Morrison, NGV’s then Division Head, Exhibition & Collection Management wrote, ‘This group of paintings shows how seriously the Gallery’s early trustees pursued the goal of moral improvement through emotional stimulation. It seems that a painting’s worth depended to a great extent on its ability to tell a story that delivered an unequivocal emotional message.’

This exhibition took place at Waverley City Gallery during a period of redevelopment at the National Gallery of Victoria.

Sourced from: Emotionally charged: 19th century Australian and European Paintings from the Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, National Gallery of Victoria, 1999.

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