Author: ANGELA GIOVANANGELI
The French Australian Review No 67 (Australian Summer 2019-2020): 5-25.
https://doi.org/10.62586/EMEP7766
WINNER OF THE 2019 IVAN BARKO AWARD
Lucien Henry, Paris Communard and Australian artist, has been described by art historians as the most productive and influential artist working in Sydney from 1879 to 1891. He was hailed as one of the first artists to advocate a national art through his use of motifs, symbols and patterns found in the local fauna and flora. Meanwhile, some studies on the Paris Commune refer to the continuing influence of the Communards who, following the popular uprising, worked on projects in various parts of the world and continued the legacy of the Commune. This paper examines some of the ideology and designs of Henry, notably through the letters and articles written by the artist in journals and letters during his period in Australia, to argue that Henry’s artistic and teaching practices in Australia represent the ontology of transculturation as a result of his experience in France during the Paris Commune.
Keywords: Lucien Henry, Paris Commune, Australian decorative arts, transculturation, Australian nationhood, Communal luxury, Universal Republic