‘Duty points to Paris...’ John Peter Russell's Portrait of Dr William Maloney as Talisman,

Abstract

This paper examines the materials and techniques of John Peter Russell's portrait of Dr Will Maloney, held in the National Gallery of Victoria. It tests how far Russell's choice and use of pigments was aligned to his description of his working methods, and in particular to the account of his palette he gave to his friend Tom Roberts in the year that he painted this portrait. Findings indicate that Russell was using newly developed pigments, but without understanding their nature, a situation that he addressed as he matured as an artist.