Further to Cathy Dees posting of the painting, The First Fleet entering Port Jackson, January 26, 1788, drawn 1888, I thought I would give my take on the painting -- The painting is a symbolic representation, not literal, and should be enjoyed as such. Any anxiety over the question of, how can this be considered truthful if the artist wasnt there at the time, wont find any resolution, except to say it is an invention based on historical fact. In my view, the artist brings to us the idea of the fleet crossing the imaginary line between the heads, and into the harbour. In doing so, it can represent the satisfying of that longing for sanctuary and landfall after such a long and arduous voyage and the disappointment of the deferred-hope in the failed Botany Bay experience. It is about hope just around the corner, about a new future yet to be begin, and to be built -- about which the 1888 viewers know the secret of what transpired. So it is a painting that looks back, as much as it looks forward. It is, arguably, designed to engender good feelings about life in 1888, having come so far since 1788 when the First Fleet entered Port Jackson. In the adjacent Google Earth mark-up, red shows that imaginary line between the heads, more or less, and the two yellow lines show the viewing frame within which the painting is drawn. The convergence of these yellow lines is that place from where the view across the heads is made. We dont know whether the artist actually got down on the rocks to accurately draw the view across the harbour to capture the view of the north head and the land west of it -- bit it is possible, even probable (But does it matter?). Technically, the left-hand yellow line is pointing due north, so the artists centre of view is approximately a few points east of north, north east (NNE); with an angle of view encompassing about 50 degrees. Notably, the top pennants on the vessels masts are flying to the east, indicating a wind from the west, more or less. But the pennants do not seem to be in concordance with the billowing of the sails -- difficult to tell -- but I am only a novice on sailing matters. Notably, the vessels log books would show the wind conditions that the sailors were dealing with on the day -- was the wind somewhere from the west? If so, then that is a point of accuracy borne out in the painting, per the pennants. If the wind was from the east, say, then that is a fact that the artist could be said to have failed to represent accurately, per the pennants -- but, like the location of the artist, does it really matter? And, were the log books available to the artist in Sydney? Most probably not as they would have had to be surrendered to the Admiralty for safe keeping. I like the painting for how it has me thinking about my ancestors and how they experienced something unique in the history of mankind as they were, at that time, on the cusp of a different future for this land of which we are living proof. Please feel free to use the above for your records, with the appropriate acknowledgement of authorship. (If you notice any typos please let me know and I will fix them - much appreciated)
Posted on: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 11:34:06 +0000
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