Lucien Felix Henry was born in 1850 in Provence, in the south of France. He arrived in Paris to study art in 1867 and was accepted into Gerome's studio at the Ecoles des Beaux Arts. His studies were disrupted by the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris. He played a leading role in the popular movement to defend the Paris Commune in 1871 as Chef de la Legion, responsible for the defence of the 14th arrondissement. After their defeat Henry, along with some 4000 other Communards, was incarcerated in the French penal colony of New Caledonia for seven years. In 1879 the Communards were given amnesty and Henry arrived in Sydney.
That year the International Exhibition was held in Sydney, ushering in a decade of prosperous growth within the colony. Henry successfully argued for state involvement in art education and by the end of the decade he had become a widely respected teacher and artist at Sydney Technical College. His Parisian art education had encouraged interdisciplinary work between the arts and industry which he sought to foster locally. His major project was to be a book entitled 'Australian Decorative Arts' for which he made some one hundred watercolour designs between 1889-91. He returned to Paris to seek a publisher although the accompanying text remained largely unwritten, however the severe economic depression of the 1890s made publication of such a lavish work impossible. He died in France in 1896.
These 14 glass plate negatives are black and white photographic images of plaster sculptures created by Lucien Henry, including shallow reliefs, a bust and a capital. The photographs were probably taken by Henry as a record of his work.
Two photographs of the bust show front and rear views of a female allegorical figure representing Australia's proposed federation. Bearing the word 'Australasia' on her breast, she wears a scarf of seaweed around a breastplate that forms the shape of the Australian mainland. The anchor around her neck alludes to the island continent. Her head is adorned with waratahs and a crown of stars (representing the federating colonies). In fact Henry titled this bust 'Federation'. He made a black and white pen and ink drawing of it for reproduction in his book. The bust itself is not known to exist, though the drawing is in the museum's collection.
Also related to the movement for federation is a series of seven terracotta cameo plaques or medallions. Each represents one of the seven colonies (including New Zealand) that were contemplating federation. The cameos appear to have been initially designed as decorative inlays in electroplated zinc for the elevator car at Anthony Hordern's Sydney store. The only extant work is the New Zealand cameo, which was made into a lead panel and is in the museum's collection.
Another of the glass plates shows a tablet (featuring another allegorical figure) designed for the subscribers' page of Henry's planned 'Australian Decorative Arts' publication. Subscribers who were to finance the publication would have their names appear on this page.
Another shows Henry's terracotta design for an antefix (an ornamental piece for a tiled roof) based on a lyrebird. There are two such antefixes on Norman Selfe's house at Ashfield. The lyrebird also appears, crowned with a star, on a model for a capital (or uppermost part of a column). Another sculpture shows Henry's design of an heraldic image with a ram's head, representing Australia's pastoral industry.
The negatives detail works created by Lucien Henry. Lucien Henry (1850-1896) was born in Provence in the south of France. In 1867 he arrived in Paris to study art and was accepted into Gerome's studio at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. His studies were disrupted by the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris. He played a leading role in the popular movement to defend the Paris Commune in 1871 and as Chef de la Legion was responsible for the defence of the 14th arrondissement. After their defeat, Henry, along with some 4000 other Communards was incarcerated in the French penal colony of New Caledonia for seven years. In 1879, the Communards were given amnesty and Henry arrived in Sydney.
Henry took up a teaching position at Sydney Technical College. His major work was a proposed book entitled, Australian Decorative Arts, for which he made some one hundred watercolour designs between 1889 and 1891. He returned to Paris to find a publisher however the 1890s depression made publication of such a lavish work impossible. He died in France in 1896.
The photographs were taken by Lucien Henry and used as method of recording his work. The sculptural works were designed for many different areas including an elevator car at Anthony Hordens in Sydney, and an antefix for a house in Ashfield.
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