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Knut Bull
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Born
1811
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Died
1889
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Title
View of Ballarat, across Lake Wendouree
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Date of Production
1866-1873
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Medium
oil on canvas
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Dimensions
665 x 1135 mm
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Credit Details
Purchased with funds from the Colin Hicks Caldwell Bequest Fund and the Ferry Foundation, 1991
Knut Bull
View of Ballarat, across Lake Wendouree
The Norwegian painter, teacher and photographer Knut Bull, who
trained in Copenhagen and Germany, went to London in 1845 and was
subsequently arrested, tried and sentenced to 14 years
transportation to Australian for his involvement in the forgery of
a 100 pound note. Granted a conditional pardon in 1853, Bull left
Hobart in 1856 and settled briefly in Victoria before moving on to
New South Wales.
This painting by Knut Bull, who was best known for his romantic
landscapes, is the earliest extant view from the Botanic Gardens to
Mount Warrenheip across Lake Wendouree which was created in 1856 by
the damming of Gnarr Creek and Yuille Swamp. Identifiable buildings
other than houses from left to right include the Primitive
Methodist Church built in 1864 but no longer standing, the flour
mill which was one of several that were operating in the area in
1865; two gold mines, boathouses, Nazareth House and the former
Benevolent Asylum.
This painting originally formed part of a pair that belonged to
William Little who was a Mayor of Ballarat in the late nineteenth
century. The other work - the present whereabouts of which is
unknown - was a view looking westwards from the opposite side of
the city.