Introduction
Montsalvat is an opulent estate with sweeping grounds and buildings that look like they’re straight out of a fairytale, You might forget your right amid the town of Eltham, only 35 minutes away from the city.
Montsalvat is one of Australia’s oldest art commune established by Justus Jörgensen after he purchased the land in 1934, Justus was an architect and a passionate artist who wanted to create an environment to help cultivate art and performing arts in his local area.
So who is Justus Jörgensen and who may have influenced his art and vision?
Justus was born in 1893 in East Brighton and trained as an architect with a Melbourne architectural firm and studied art at the National Gallery School of Art in Melbourne. The principal at the time was Renowned Australian artist Frederick McCubbin a leading member of the Heidelberg School Movement.
Fredrick McCubbin was well known for his plein air (outdoors) impressionist works done towards the later part of his career. McCubbin’s early works painted in the style of academicism (which is a form of Neoclassicism and Romanticism) , his style later evolved into Australian impressionism from the techniques that were brought back by artist Tom Roberts from his trips in Britain and Europe.
McCubbin, Tom Roberts, Charles Condor and Arthur Streeton where the founding members of the iconic Heidelberg school that taught a form of tonal impressionism.
This style favored the artist painting directly from the landscape in front of them, the school is considered to be the core of the Australian impressionist movement that ended with the rise of modernism.
In 1917, after hearing a lecture by the artist Max Meldrum, Jorgensen decided to join the Meldrum Studio and adopt his tonalist technique at age 24.
Meldrums school on tonalism took inspiration from tonal works that came out of America and Europe during the 1890s, this tonal technique was different from impressionism as it focused on the tone of a color.
Meldrum called it the pure science of optical analysis, using colours that had the same tonal qualities with little contrast between colours and allowing shadows, proportions and shapes to describe the image.
At the time art in Australia around the 20’s and 30’s was moving away from impressionism and tonalism which had dominated the 30 year span around the turn of the century and started moving more towards modernism and abstract styles.
These new styles first started becoming popular in Europe around the WW1 and rose to become the predominant art movement by the 1940s.
Justus and his wife took a trip to Europe and England in 1924 exploring the architecture of the old towns, as well as studying artworks by the old masters in some of Europe’s greatest gallery’s.
They stayed in Europe for 5 years spending time with Max Meldrum while staying in the town of Cassis France, establishing a studio in Paris for Justus to work on his projects
The two returned to Australia in 1929, after Jorgensen enjoyed considerable success both in Paris and London, having had several successful exhibitions at major galleries including the prestigious Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in both 1926 and 1927, a pretty good achievement at the time.
Being inspired by his travels and after moving out of his warehouse studio in Queen St Melbourne, Justus whilst working as a architect started looking to establish a studio in Eltham for artist and cartoonist Percy Leason.
After seeing the site Montsalvat now sits on, Justus decided to acquire the site for reasons beyond just a studio. “Montsalvat” – a place for the beginning of his vision, a site his family and friends could live and work on their crafts.
Justus believed he could create a new hub for his arts community. He wanted a place with open gates, where all were welcome to come, visit and work.
Justus dream of Montsalvat began to take shape in 1934, almost all the buildings located around the grounds where built using reclaimed building materials mainly from demolition sites coming out of the city of Melbourne which was modernizing at the time.
A perfect example of enthusiasm and teamwork the majority of the buildings were built by hand, Justus was fascinated by the old buildings he saw during his travels through Europe.
Eltham having being settled in the 1850s had used the method of mud brick construction for many buildings, the soil around the area was suitable and perfect for the type of texture needed for mudbrick.
But finding information about the building techniques of mud brick and rammed earth construction proved a little difficult, so he sent his student Arthur Munday to the State Library in Melbourne to research the techniques.
Because the technique was handed down through the generations and record keeping before 1900 was at times scarce, Arthur finally found the information in books of the ancient Roman historian Pliny the elder.
At first Montsalvat started with nothing more than a studio for Justus and his family plus accommodation for his students, as the colony started to grow, more buildings were established around the property.
These including the bluestone chapel, gatehouse and pool area which looked like something from an Italian villa. With the doors that open onto the pond being the students quarters and later being converted into one large studio. Materials and funds to build the pond area were donated by Helen Lempriere’s family.
Montsalvat “Meeting Pool” area Wikipedia
Probably the most striking building and important building at Montsalvat is the Great Hall, described as gothic it’s one of the largest buildings on the grounds, it has large gallery spaces on the upper level and lower levels, plus small corridors leading into basement rooms, all set amongst fabulous gardens and stone work.
Work on the Great Hall began in 1938 with a local tradesman Len Jarrold. Jorgensen originally designed the structure out of mud brick, however during the excavation a reef of stone was uncovered.
After discovering the new material, Jorgensen decided to completely redesign the plans for the great hall, and the building was constructed from this local reef rock, creating some beautiful eye catching stone walls, pathways and majestic windows
Fortunately the Royal insurance building that stood in collins street Melbourne was being demolished this also allowed the great hall to gain its gothic look through the reclaimed materials removed and transported to the site.
Many students of Montsalvat help to carve the gargoyles featured on the outside of the hall. During world war 2 Montsalvat had a number of students assist on the front line and the home front which halted works on the hall, it was during that time Jorgensen and the smaller group of students and artists worked on building barns and farms on the property with a farmer and poultry market being held on the grounds for the community.
After the war the slate floor in the hall and the wooden floors above were completed. Students were given the task of carving the corbels and other embellishments around the windows and doors as part of their training.
Artists that worked out of montsavat where Mervyn Skipper, Arthor Munday, George Charlmers, Lesley Sinclair, Sue Vanderkelen, Ian Robertson, Helen Lempriere, John Smith, John Busst and Myra Skipper, Percy Leaso, Leonard French, Clifton Pugh, Gordon Ford, Joe Hannan and Albert Tucker.
Montsalvat is still very involved in the art community with pottery classes, multiple painting classes, jewelry classes, music performances and art exhibitions, as well they even hold a Montsalvat Film award for the Victorian college of the arts and a Nillumbik Prize For Contemporary Art.
If your into arts and architecture, with its rich history and involvement in the community, Montsalvat should certainly be on your list of places to visit.
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