Hans Heysen
1877 - 1968 Threshing peas 1913- watercolour and pencil on paper
HANS HEYSEN
1877-1968
lived and worked in Hahndorf, SA
Threshing peas 1913
watercolour and pencil on paper
47cm x 62cm
Acquired in 1985
Hans Heysen had a strong work ethic and a strong identity with the soil, having grown up in Hahndorf, South Australia. Heysen belonged to a generation that believed in eternal values and he felt that the landscape could express these best. Heysen is, in fact, a direct follower of the Heidelberg school. In 1919 Heysen wrote the following in a letter to his friend Lionel Lindsay:
Rural life under these conditions has always held a great fascination for me and also that animals that toil for man, and I shall not be surprised if this part of my art will demand more and more of my attention as time goes on.
The gum trees that Heysen never tired of painting represented an entire moral order that had been endangered by the war. Heysen was the finest advocate of this style of painting and his techniques were extremely refined.
Source: Helen Topliss, The Song of the Lamb: The Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, Wesfarmers Limited, Perth, 1989, p.20