HANS HEYSEN The Hillside, Glen Osmond

The Hillside, Glen Osmond 1936, represents a region of Glen Osmond that was pastoral land at the time of the painting’s conception. Today the area, some 20 kilometres northwest of Hahndorf, is a suburb on the outskirts of Adelaide.

Hans Heysen shows great concern for accuracy in recording the topography of the landscape. He has carefully composed the landscape using detailed sketches that he made on location and later developed in a studio at “The Cedars.” In addition to accuracy, Heysen imbues his works with an emotion and lyricism that is unique to his experience of the landscape. Heysen’s aim was to achieve balance and harmony within the composition whilst manipulating the perspective to direct the viewer’s eye through the scene. In The Hillside, Glen Osmond, this effectis created by the hill that dominates the foreground of the image, drawing the eye further into the gully and beyond.