One of the lesser known, but equally talented of the famed Heidelberg School artists was Scottish born John Mather. He studied art at the Edinburgh National Gallery School before deciding to emigrate to Melbourne around 1877/78 for health reasons, apparently. It was thought that the move would be beneficial for his asthma.

There was once a social magazine titled ‘Table Talk’ which was published in Melbourne from 1885 until 1939. This magazine provided commentary on politics, literature, finance, arts, and social issues. It had a particularly clear and unpretentious approach to arts commentary as evidenced by its appraisal of Mather’s work. “Mather looks nature straight in the face, so to speak, and presents her in the bright apparel she loves to wear, especially in the lucid atmosphere of Australia”. 27 April, 1888.

*Picnic Point, near Brighton*, oil on canvas, 1886 (Ballarat Fine Art Gallery)

It’s Mather’s technical skill that I admire the most, and his understanding of light, although it’s claimed that he never attained the freshness and sense of delight which pervaded the work of the Heidelberg artists. I’m not so sure about that.

His treatment of the foreground in “Morning Walk By The Yarra” with those soft, feathery brushstrokes and subtle gradations of colour is superb. This is not easy to reproduce in a photograph.

*Morning Walk By The Yarra*, oil on canvas (Ballarat Fine Art Gallery)

Whilst Mather’s paintings may have lacked the free-flowing spontaneity of the Heidelberg artists, that doesn’t make him a lesser artist in my view. He was a wonderful painter of moods and atmospheres as evidenced by his painting of Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens. There is almost an other worldliness to this work.

*Autumn In The Fitzroy Gardens*, oil on canvas, 1894, (National Gallery of Victoria)

Mather had an interesting and varied career in Melbourne, including decorating the interior of the dome of the Exhibition Building in 1880. He enrolled at the Gallery School under George Folingsby in 1882, became a founder member of the Australian Artists Association in Melbourne in 1886 and painted at various locations around Australia and New Zealand. He was also a prolific etcher.

He became a popular teacher and was the first artist trustee of the National Gallery of Victoria, a position he held until his death in 1916. According to Wikipedia, his grave at the Cheltenham Pioneer Cemetery was completely unmarked until July 2023 when a small plaque was placed on the grave stating “Mr John Mather 1848 – 1916 The beauty of his Art endures.”

References;

‘Golden Summers - Heidelberg and Beyond’, National Gallery of Victoria, 1985

‘The Heidelberg School - The Golden Summer of Australian Painting’, William Splatt & Dugald McLennan, 1986

Wikipedia

John Mather - Heidelberg Artist From Scotland