Hermannsburg School facts for kids
The Hermannsburg School is a special art style that began in the 1930s. It started at the Hermannsburg Mission in Australia. The most famous artist from this style is Albert Namatjira. This art style is known for its beautiful watercolour paintings. They show the amazing colours of the Australian outback landscape.
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How the Hermannsburg School Started
The Hermannsburg Mission is about 125 kilometers west of Alice Springs in Central Australia. It was founded in 1877 by Lutheran missionaries. The Western Arrernte people have lived in this area for thousands of years. In 1941, an artist named Rex Battarbee started the Aranda Art Group. This group helped the new artists get art supplies. They also helped them manage their art business.
What Makes Hermannsburg Art Special?
Hermannsburg painters use soft colours, usually watercolours. They paint their home landscape, which is the Western Arrernte country. European settlers later named this area the Western Macdonnell Ranges. Before this art style, Western Arrernte people used art mostly for ceremonies. Their art showed maps of their land and their special Dreaming stories. They used symbols in their paintings.
Early paintings by Albert Namatjira also showed a deep connection to the land. These artists had a close knowledge of the land where their people had lived for thousands of years. The Ghost Gum tree is often seen in these artworks. It is a sacred and important tree in Western Arrernte stories. In the best works by Otto Pareroultja, trees look like ancient beings. Their trunks look like bodies and their branches like arms.
Famous Artists of the Hermannsburg School
Albert Namatjira started his unique art style after seeing an art show. This show was by visiting artists Rex Battarbee and John Gardner in the 1930s. Many other artists also became part of the Hermannsburg School. These include Wenten Rubuntja, Walter Ebatarinja, and Otto Pareroultja. Otto's brothers, Ruben and Edwin, were also artists.
Albert's sons, Enos, Oscar, Ewald, Maurice, and Keith, also became painters. His grandson Gabriel and his son-in-law Claude Pannka continued the tradition. His granddaughter Gloria Pannka is also an artist. Other members of the school include the brothers Henoch and Herbert Raberaba.
Why Hermannsburg Art is Important
The Hermannsburg School brought a big change to Australian Aboriginal art. The paintings from this movement were easy for art collectors to understand. This was because they looked like Western-style landscapes. It also became a good way for Aboriginal communities to earn money. Today, Hermannsburg is also famous for its potters, especially the women artists.
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