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The Art of genocide: Benjamin Duterrau’s The Conciliation
Citation
Lehman, G, The Art of genocide: Benjamin Duterrau's The Conciliation, Art, War and Truth Conference, 13-14 February 2014, The Australian National University (2014) [Conference Extract]
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Abstract
The Black War in Van Diemen’s Land sought the complete ‘extirpation’ of
the island’s Indigenous nations. It culminated in the most ambitious military
campaign in the history of the Australian colonies, and was ended by an historic
treaty agreement authorised by Governor George Arthur in 1831. Benjamin
Duterrau’s The Conciliation, considered to be Australia’s first epic history painting,
commemorates this moment, providing what the Australian Museum of Democracy
considers as one of Australia’s Founding Images. But does our reading of the
painting today adequately acknowledge the milieu of the painting’s production, and
its meaning for audiences of the time? Historian Bain Attwood suggests that The
Conciliation was inspired by Benjamin West’s Penn’s Treaty with the Indians.
However, this analysis fails to adequately consider the complexity of academic
traditions represented in Duterrau’s composition.
This paper presents the results of recent research at the University of Oxford,
suggesting thematic links for the painting that are more profound than those
proposed by any previous author. It is argued that Duterrau was pointing to far more
than simple parallels between colonial conflict in North America and Australia. The
Conciliation is presented as an allegorical tale of conciliation, deception and fall from
innocence; its roots in the French Revolution and Milton’s grand drama of Paradise
Lost. The implications of this research add weight to recent calls by Henry Reynolds
for a reappraisal of colonial conflict with Indigenous people in Australia, and
demonstrate the need for a more critical reading of Australia’s early visual history.
Item Details
Item Type: | Conference Extract |
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Keywords: | Aboriginal, Tasmania |
Research Division: | Indigenous Studies |
Research Group: | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, society and community |
Research Field: | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sociology |
Objective Division: | Culture and Society |
Objective Group: | Understanding past societies |
Objective Field: | Understanding Australia's past |
UTAS Author: | Lehman, G (Professor Gregory Lehman) |
ID Code: | 145896 |
Year Published: | 2014 |
Deposited By: | Aboriginal Engagement |
Deposited On: | 2021-08-10 |
Last Modified: | 2021-08-10 |
Downloads: | 0 |
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