Aesthetic effects and decorative beauty were at the forefront of contemporary Australian visual culture during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mood, atmosphere and the poetic registering of colour effects from nature were intensified and transposed into visual art, inspired by the Whistlerian aesthetic of decorative painting. Art historiography in Australia has downplayed or erased this connection, possibly because admitting the relationship between painting and decoration would diminish the authority of orthodox art history. But the impact of the decorative or so-called lesser arts on painting was at the forefront of international trends and gave the perceived qualities of region and places a poetic, even universal dimension. Form, line, colour and mass were major elements in art that engaged the senses and emotions of viewers and reduced the importance of storytelling in painting. Art historians need to incorporate the significant value of decoration and aesthetic effects within Australian visual culture of the late Victorian and early Edwardian period. This article redresses this erasure in art history and takes as its case study two once-leading and now little-known Melbourne-based Scottish-born Australian decorators and easel painters, John Mather (1848–1916) and John Ford Paterson (1851–1912). Both trained as artists and decorators in Scotland and came to Australia, respectively, during the 1870s. These artists have been discussed together in exhibition catalogues, and recently brief but interesting information on them was included in the major publication that accompanied the exhibition on the cultural contribution of the Scots in colonial Australia. However, there has been no analysis of their painting in relation to their decorative artwork. How did each artist balance decorative art effects in their easel painting, if at all? Did they depict and aestheticise Australian nature in their art decoration, or was this interpretation reserved for their fine art? Close analysis of Paterson and Mather's work reveals their different approaches to decorative and fine art, this latter term used during their contemporary period.

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“平淡无奇”和“诗意”：约翰马瑟和约翰福特帕特森的装饰艺术

美学效果和装饰美在 19 世纪末和 20 世纪初处于当代澳大利亚视觉文化的前沿。受到惠斯勒装饰画美学的启发，情绪、氛围和自然色彩效果的诗意记录被强化并转化为视觉艺术。澳大利亚的艺术史学淡化或抹去了这种联系，可能是因为承认绘画和装饰之间的关系会削弱正统艺术史的权威。但装饰或所谓的小艺术对绘画的影响处于国际趋势的最前沿，并赋予地区和地方的感知品质以诗意甚至普遍的维度。形式，线条，色彩和质量是艺术中的主要元素，它们吸引了观众的感官和情感，降低了绘画中讲故事的重要性。艺术史学家需要将装饰和美学效果的重要价值融入维多利亚时代晚期和爱德华时代早期的澳大利亚视觉文化中。这篇文章纠正了艺术史上的这一抹杀现象，并以两位曾经领先但现在鲜为人知的墨尔本苏格兰出生的澳大利亚装饰师和画架画家约翰·马瑟（1848-1916）和约翰·福特·帕特森（1851-1912）作为案例研究）。两人都在苏格兰接受了艺术家和装饰师的培训，并于 1870 年代分别来到澳大利亚。这些艺术家在展览目录中被一起讨论过，最近，关于苏格兰人在澳大利亚殖民时期的文化贡献展览的主要出版物中包含了关于他们的简短但有趣的信息。然而，没有分析他们的绘画与他们的装饰艺术品。如果有的话，每位艺术家如何平衡他们画架绘画中的装饰艺术效果？他们是在艺术装饰中描绘和美化了澳大利亚的自然风光，还是为他们的美术保留了这种解释？对帕特森和马瑟作品的仔细分析揭示了他们对装饰和美术的不同方法，后者是在他们的当代时期使用的。如果有的话，每位艺术家如何平衡他们画架绘画中的装饰艺术效果？他们是在艺术装饰中描绘和美化了澳大利亚的自然风光，还是为他们的美术保留了这种解释？对帕特森和马瑟作品的仔细分析揭示了他们对装饰和美术的不同方法，后者是在他们的当代时期使用的。如果有的话，每位艺术家如何平衡他们画架绘画中的装饰艺术效果？他们是在艺术装饰中描绘和美化了澳大利亚的自然风光，还是为他们的美术保留了这种解释？对帕特森和马瑟作品的仔细分析揭示了他们对装饰和美术的不同方法，后者是在他们的当代时期使用的。