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Artist
Arthur Boyd
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Born
1920
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Died
1999
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Title
The golden calf
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Date of Production
1946
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Medium
oil and tempera on composition board
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Dimensions
84 x 89 cm
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Credit Details
Purchased, Colin Hicks Caldwell Bequest Fund and the Ferry Foundation, 1995. © Reproduced with permission of the Bundanon Trust
Arthur Boyd
The golden calf
Arthur Boyd, who grew up in Victoria in a family rich in
artistic tradition, turned to painting religious imagery from 1947
to the mid 50s. Derived from Exodus 32: 1-6 where Moses'
brother Aaron constructs a figure of a calf to satisfy the peoples'
desire to worship something visible and tangible, The Golden Calf
shows Moses asleep on the top of the mountain unaware of the
chaotic scene unfolding below, and yet to hear the sound of God's
anger.
Influenced by the graphic and sometimes grotesque images
portrayed in a large illustrated bible which had been read to
him when he was a child, The Golden Calf is one of a
series of paintings by Boyd in response to his feelings about
events in Europe during World War II. Set in the Australian
landscape, this crowded composition with its glossy sheen and rich
colours has been painted in tempera, a mixture of powdered pigments
and fresh egg yolk also reflects his fascination with the works of
Breughel that he had studied from reproductions in the State
Library of Victoria during 1945-46.