Benjamin Duterrau (2 March 1767– 11 July 1851) was an English painter, etcher, engraver, sculptor and art lecturer who emigrated to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. There he became known for his images of Indigenous people and Australian history paintings.

Career

Duterrau was born in Soho in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and was of Anglo-French descent. The parish record of Saint Anne, Soho, gives his baptism date as 24 March 1768, father 'Benjamin Dutterreau' and mother 'Sarah'. His father was a watchmaker. Duterrau was apprenticed to an engraver and in 1790 did two coloured stipple engraving after George Morland, ''The Farmer's Door'' and ''The Squire's Door''. Taking up painting, between 1817 and 1823 he exhibited six portraits at

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

exhibitions, and he also exhibited three genre pieces at the British Institution about the same period. Duterrau emigrated to

Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colonial name of the island of Tasmania during the European exploration of Australia, European exploration and colonisation of Australia in the 19th century. The Aboriginal Tasmanians, Aboriginal-inhabited island wa ...

(now

), arriving in August 1832 with his daughter. He lived at the corner of Campbell and Patrick Streets in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, and practised as a portrait painter. In 1833, at the Hobart Mechanics' Hall, he was the first man in the colony to give a lecture on art. In 1835 he did some etchings of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

, the first examples of that craft to be done in Australia. His most famous painting
The Conciliation
(1840) is in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart, which was intended to be a study for his "A National Picture", a 3.04m x 4.26m epic which has been long missing. A self-portrait and other works, including some modelling in relief, also hang in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. A large landscape is in the Beattie collection at Launceston, and he is also represented in the Dixon collection at

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Duterrau died at Hobart in 1851. His daughter Jane (1812–1885) married John Bogle (1808–1879), a colonial merchant, in Hobart, Tasmania in February 1838, before returning to Britain. Their son

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

played for the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

in the 1872 FA Cup Final. Duterrau's gravestone lies in Hobart's Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, which erroneously names 'Bengamin Duterrau'. The spelling of Benjamin is the same in English and French but the sounds of the letters being spelled is different. Duterrau, though born in London, was the son of immigrant French parents whose first language would have been French and his education and language at home may well have been largely in French. This author suggests that the misspelling on his gravestone is the result of a spelling by either a French speaker to an English speaker or that Duterrau had always spelled his name to people in French alphabet where the English 'G' is pronounced 'jay' in French and 'J' as 'gee'.

Interpretation of Artworks

The significance and interpretation of Duterrau's painting has been debated. For example, although a minor artist, the

Museum of Australian Democracy Old Parliament House, formerly known as the Provisional Parliament House, was the seat of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 after Parliament's relocation from Melbourne to the new capit ...

considers ''The Conciliation'' to be the first national epic painting and a foundation document for Australia. Intended to portray the end of the conflict in Van Diemen's land (Tasmania) between white settlers and First Nation people, the images are considered by Greg Lehman to be both ambivalent and ambiguous about the conciliation transaction and presages the betrayal of promises made to First Nation people by the Governor George Augustus Robinson. Lehman suggests that First Nation people's hesitancy in the painting reflects the artist's own unease about the future of Tasmanian First Nation people despite Duterrau's regard for Robinson. Duterrau made a number of studies of this scene and the final 1840 version now in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in Hobart provides a poignant insight into the future decimation of Tasmanian First Nation people. Lehman suggests this is depicted through the husband of Trucanini pointing to her shell necklace, a symbol of culture, that is being traded away.

Gallery

The squires door by DUTERRAU, BENJAMIN - GMII.jpg , The squire's door (1790) Benjamin Duterrau - Edith, Mrs George Gatehouse - Google Art Project.jpg , Edith, Mrs George Gatehouse (c. 1834) Benjamin Duterrau - Timmy, a Tasmanian Aboriginal, throwing a spear - Google Art Project.jpg , Timmy, a Tasmanian Aboriginal, throwing a spear (1838) Benjamin Duterrau - Mr Robinson's first interview with Timmy - Google Art Project.jpg , Mr Robinson's first interview with Timmy (1840) Benjamin Duterrau - Jack, a Tasmanian Aboriginal, holding a club - Google Art Project.jpg , Jack, a Tasmanian Aboriginal, holding a club (1841) Last of the Tasmanians Woodcut 7 - Manalagana.jpg , Manalagana Last of the Tasmanians Woodcut 5 - Mr Robinson on his conciliation mission.jpg , Mr Robinson on his conciliation mission

References

External links

G. Duterreau
(Dictionary of Australian artists online)

(ArtNet.com)

(1835 drawing)
Mr Robinson's first interview with Timmy
(1840, oil on canvas - National Gallery of Australia)
Native taking a kangaroo
(1837, oil on canvas - National Gallery of Australia) * *Record for 1768 baptism of 'Benjamin Dutterreau' in Westminster, London. Batch No: CO62369
(International Genealogical Index
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duterrau, Benjamin 19th-century English painters English male painters English engravers English etchers English emigrants to colonial Australia 1767 births 1851 deaths Painters from London 19th-century Australian painters 19th-century English male artists