Burnt Feld Analysis

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Fred Williams was one of Australia’s greatest artists. His artwork has changed the way Australian landscape was represented. William created a highly original and distinctive way of seeing the Australian landscape; he has come exceptionally close to the Aboriginal perceptions and interpretations of the land. Burnt Fern painted by William was a depiction of the Australian landscape and it changed the way Australia was seen through landscape painting. His perception of newly-experienced landscape captures characteristic techniques and elements of visual language acknowledging a break-through in Australian landscape painting. Fred William’s painting Burnt Fern represents sentimental Australian landscape with the deliberately-placed marks. His…show more content…
Burn Fern is compared to My Harvest Home painted by John Glover, both artworks share similarities and differences through visual language used to convey meaning. Both artists have used the idea a horizon line to create ground distance. However, in Burnt Fern, the horizon line is very high in order for flatness and distance to remain distinct and separate entities. On the other hand, My Harvest Home has a horizon line much lower to create realism and contrast with the mountains presenting an authentic eye-level perspective with distinct elements arranged into a coherent composition. An earthy colour palette has been used by both artists to give tonal feel of landscape and wide vista of landscape portrayed. Both William and Glover have clearly understood colour variations with careful colour mixing by both artists, hence creating the smoky, misty haze. Both artists have used organic shapes, wide viewpoint, space and textures to reflex of the idea diverse landscape. In My Harvest Home,…show more content…
Both artworks symbol a specific place or memory which is unique to each individual or group. Williams Burnt Fern is a visual memory of the landscape whereas Tjapaltjarri’s Yuujutiyungu represents dreaming stories and mythologies part of his families’ ancestral heritage. Both painting use earthy colour palettes simplified shapes to create visual representation of landscape and the colours which reflect the meaning behind it. For instance, Burn Fern uses the colours orange, reds, browns, greys, and blues, all colours which help picture the fire, the burnt trees and charred landscape. Whereas Yuujutiyungu uses colours such as brown, yellow, grey, white; all colours that give ancient and mystical feeling. Though Burn Fern is painted at eye-level perspective, Yuujutiyungu is painted at an aerial view point. This aerial view emphasises the connection back to ancestry, the idea that ancestral spirits are watching over the land. Moreover, different techniques have been to represent the Australian Landscape, William has used splattering, dragging oil with palette knife and the use of a paint bruit. In comparison, Possum has used dots on canvas, the traditional method of aboriginal art, also representing culture and tradition. Fred Williams’s representation in

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