Rupert Bunny’s paintings glow with the kind of luminous energy that could only derive from a young Australian residing in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. His work is so sumptuous that at times it’s easy to forget his humble beginnings in 19th Century St Kilda. At barely 20 years old Bunny left the brown earth of Victoria for a more cosmopolitan European culture, quickly aligning himself with the Parisian art scene. Bunny received the most recognition and critical acclaim of any Australian artist of his time and it’s not difficult to see why. Rupert Bunny: artist in Paris, currently showing at the National Gallery of Victoria, exhibits Bunny’s exquisite range of work, from delicate depictions of mythological sea-idylls to his vibrant and richly saturated danse chromatique series.
His early work displays atmospheric light that lends itself to strong poetic feeling. Pastoral demonstrates Bunny’s skill in creating large-scale mythological work. The dream-like quality of the painting is accentuated through the use of faded pastel tones and poppies (a symbol of sleep). In many of Bunny’s earlier works, red flowers can be seen scattered on the ground. The bright bursts of colour stand out from the peachy melons and soft turquoises he was using at the time. In Endormies, one of Bunny’s most ambitious works, light falls on the subjects like dappled sunlight shining through summer blooms.
In 1909, impresario Sergei Diaghilev collaborated with revolutionary artists such as Picasso, Stravinksy and Nijinsky, shocking the world with his dazzling new dance troupe the Ballets Russes. In 1913, Bunny, like everyone else, watched in awe at the profound affect the premiere of Nijinsky’s Rite Of Spring had on the Parisian public. Influenced also by Matisse and Gauguin, it was at this time that Bunny began to reinvent himself as a modern artist.
Elena Taylor, curator of Rupert Bunny: artist in Paris, explains that with Bunny’s new aesthetic came the depiction of “fantastic movement or energised poses that were in great contrast to the languid poses of his wife in his earlier work”. His compositions became “rhythmic” and “the recurring male figure in his later works is thought to have been the figure of Nijinsky” continues Taylor. In Salomé, the exotic mauves and dark blues strongly differ from the creamy pastels used in his earlier work. Many of his danse chromatique works look like scenes from Fokine’s The Firebird, with the women in exotic make-up and the scenery drenched in colour. “In Salomé, the setting which is so richly oriental was very much in line with the Ballets Russes”, Taylor explains. Rupert Bunny’s elegant work is not to be missed.
Rupert Bunny: artist in Paris runs until Sunday 4 July at the National Gallery of Victoria.
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