VIRTUE AND SENTIMENT: the art and influence of Madame Mouchette in focus with Andrew Montana

French-born Madame Berthe Mouchette is remembered for her role in establishing the Alliance Française in Melbourne in 1890. She was also a committed artist and teacher, whose influence was widespread on the art and education of many young women in Melbourne, predominately through her school Oberwyl in St Kilda.

Patronised by Lady Loch, Mouchette frequently exhibited and developed a method of painting on canvas to imitate tapestry.  Her sister Marie Lion was an accomplished miniature painter and French language teacher and they often worked together. Arriving in Melbourne from Paris in 1881, Mouchette made East Melbourne the place for her first residence and studio.

This lecture highlights her Melbourne years, prior to her relocation to South Australia in the early 1890s and draws on examples of her art in the context of her social circle and work by other women artists during this period.

ANDREW MONTANA is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow with the Australian National University and was a senior lecturer in Art History for almost 20 years. The author of books, chapters and articles, he engages with the intersections of art, architecture, design and decorative art in his research.

Montana has spoken previously at TJC on DANIEL COTTIER'S AESTHETIC OF BEAUTY 1: Lyon, Cottier & Co. in Sydney and Melbourne (2022) and DANIEL COTTIER'S AESTHETIC OF BEAUTY 2: Cottier in the UK and in the US (2022); BALLET FANTASIAS | Loudon Sainthill’s Decorative Art (2014).

He is the author of FANTASY MODERN: Loudon Sainthill’s Theatre of Art and Life (NewSouth, 2013). Montana’s most recent publication, along with Petra ten-Doesschate Chu, Max Donnelly, and Suzanne Veldink, is DANIEL COTTIER: Designer, Decorator, Dealer (May 2021).

This lecture is presented on-site at TJC. Please see your ticket for details.

This lecture is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust

image supplied | Berthe Mouchette (French, 1846-1928), The Queen's Bouquet, Melbourne, 1891, oil on canvas | 122.1 × 152.9 cm, collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, 1995.17