The Many Lives of Johann Zoffany with Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg

The Bohemian artist Johann Zoffany (1733-1810) is best known today for his skilful arrangements of multifigure compositions which had popularised the genre of ‘conversation pieces’ in British portrait painting. In his works, the society of the second half of the eighteenth century comes alive with intimate glimpses into the atmosphere, lifestyles, and pastimes of the royal family, aristocracy, gentry, as well as leading theatre performers of the day, with humour, satire, and in-jokes. His wanderlust took him from England to the southern Europe and then across to India, with rumours of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and bigamy abound. The author of The Academicians of the Royal Academy, The Tribuna of the Uffizi, and Colonel Mordaunt’s Cock Match, Zoffany was certainly one of the more colourful figures of the eighteenth-century art scene.

Dr Eugene Barilo von Reisberg is a Melbourne-based scholar and arts manager. He completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne, where his research focused on European royal families and their portraits. Dr Barilo von Reisberg is deeply passionate about portrait painting and contemporary Australian art. He regularly shares his knowledge through lectures on European art and society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and, in addition to his academic pursuits, he manages a respected contemporary art gallery in Melbourne, further contributing to the Australian arts community.

Your ticket includes tea or Market Lane coffee served before the presentation, and time to browse our exclusive range of books, gifts, and homewares at TJC Emporium.

This event is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. NOTE: Tickets for this event do not include access to our house museum, Fairhall. Guided tours of the current exhibition can be booked separately.

This event is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust.

Image: The Sharp Family, by Johann Zoffany (1733-1810). 1779-1781. Oil on canvas. London: National Portrait Gallery.