Chloé: how a 19th-century French nude ended up in a Melbourne pub – and became an icon for Australian soldiers

Sun, 15 May 2022 20:08:21 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/chloe-how-a-19th-century-french-nude-ended-up-in-a-melbourne-pub-and-became-an-icon-for-australian-soldiers-180032>

"Chloé, the French nude by Jules Joseph Lefebvre, is an Australian cultural
icon.

Chloé made its debut at the 1875 Paris Salon and won medals at the 1879 Sydney
and 1880 Melbourne international exhibitions. In December 1880, Thomas
Fitzgerald, a Melbourne surgeon, bought Chloé for his private collection.

Two years later, when Fitzgerald loaned Chloé to the National Gallery of
Victoria, a furious debate erupted in the press. Public opinion was sharply
divided over the propriety of displaying a French nude painting on the Sabbath.

Chloé spent the next three years at the Adelaide Picture Gallery, before
Fitzgerald removed her from the public gaze.

After the surgeon’s death in 1908, Henry Figsby Young bought Chloé for £800 and
hung the famous nude in the saloon bar of Young and Jackson Hotel, opposite
Flinders Street Station in Melbourne.

Enjoying a drink with Chloé at the hotel has been a good luck ritual for
Australian soldiers since the first world war."

Share and enjoy,
               *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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