ART ASSIGNMENT-Bryce Flaskas

Shearing the Rams by Tom Roberts (9 March 1856- 14 September 1931) is a unique Australian painting which reflects the Australians way of life and the harsh conditions of living in Australia during the 1800s, It also depicts sheep shearers plying their trade in a timber shearing shed and celebrates Australian pastoral life and the mens rough masculine labour. This Art piece was created in 1890 and is an oil painting on canvas and the dimensions are 122.4cm x 183.3cm (48.2 in x 72.2 in), This art piece is currently located at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne). Tom Roberts was born in Dorchester, Dorset, England and where his parents were newspaper editors, Roberts' family migrated with him to Australia in 1869. Settling in Collingwood, He attended the Heidelberg School (which was an Australian art movement) with Frederick Mcubbin and Arthur Streeton.

Shearing the Rams

Tom Roberts

1890

This art work is uniquely Australian because it displays the skilful process of shearing sheep and the technique involved. In this oil painting there are multiple men lying the sheep down towards the floor and shearing them and there thick, white, warm fleece falling off and covering the floor. The front shearing man is wearing a light red and white flannel, the artist has focused our attention onto this man who is most likely the gun shearer. On the right of the painting there is an old scraggly looking man kneeling down watching the shearers who is most likely the boss. On the left hand side there is a boy hauling a bundle of thick fleece from the shearing shed who is most likely a helper boy and just in front of the boy there is a man carrying a great big marino into the stables. The atmosphere of this painting