Title

Nebuchadnezzar on fire falling over a waterfall

(1966-1968)

Artist

Arthur Boyd

Australia, England

24 Jul 1920 – 24 Apr 1999

Artist profile

Details

Other Title

Nebuchadnezzar over a waterfall

Date

(1966-1968)

Media category

Painting

Materials used

oil on canvas

Dimensions

183.2 x 175.0 x 2.4 cm

Signature & date

Signed l.r. corner, red oil "Arthur Boyd". Not dated.

Credit

Gift of Ms Catherine Palmer 1983

Location

Not on display

Accession number

168.1983

Copyright

© Reproduced with permission of Bundanon Trust
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Artist information

Arthur Boyd
Artist profile

Works in the collection

402

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About

According to the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament, Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, was punished by God for his pride and made insane for seven years:

… driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

Reminded of Icarus, who flew too close to the sun and fell to the earth in flames, Arthur Boyd portrays Nebuchadnezzar as a meteor heading towards a waterfall in the Australian bush. Parallels with contemporary events may also be
drawn. As Robert Hughes pointed out in 1994, ‘Nebuchadnezzar on fire falling over a waterfall clearly related to the acts of self-immolation by protestors against the Vietnam war’.
Exhibition history
Shown in 5 exhibitions
- Celebrity Choice - Sam Neill, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 08 Jan 1987–08 Feb 1987
- Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Dec 1993–06 Mar 1994
  
  Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], Melbourne, 30 Mar 1994–23 May 1994
  
  Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 09 Jun 1994–21 Aug 1994
  
  Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth, 22 Sep 1994–20 Nov 1994
- Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000
- Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul, National Art School, Darlinghurst, 10 Jan 2019–09 Mar 2019
  
  Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul, Ipswich Art Gallery, Ipswich, 25 May 2019–29 Aug 2019
  
  Arthur Boyd: Landscape of the Soul, Shepparton Art Museum, Australia, 12 Sep 2019–24 Nov 2019
- Season Two, Landscape of the Soul, Bundanon Art Museum, Illaroo, 02 Jul 2022–09 Oct 2022
Bibliography
Referenced in 14 publications
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art from Australia: 2016 calender, Sydney, 2015, n.pag. (colour illus.). month of June
- T.S.R. Boase, Nebuchadnezzar, 18 drawings and 34 paintings, London, 1972, 20-21 (colour illus.). plate no. 4
- Rosemary Clark, Collection of 1994 Australian Stamps, 1994, 16 (illus.).
- Rosemary Clark, Mary Hoban and Lisa Lim, The collection of 1999 Australian stamps, 'Australian legends - Arthur Boyd, AC, OBE', pg. 18-19, Australia, 1999, 18 (colour illus.), 19.
- Rob Ditessa', Artist's palette, 'Icons on show', pg. 54-59, Sydney, 2000, 54-55 (colour illus.).
- Fernanda Eberstadt, When the Sons of Heaven Meet the Daughters of Earth, London, 1997, cover.
- Lou Klepac, Australian painters of the twentieth century, 'Sidney Nolan', pg. 136-147, Sydney, 2000, 155 (colour illus.).
- Roger S Magnusson, Angels of death: exploring the euthanasia underground, Carlton South, 2002, front cover (colour illus., detail), back cover (colour illus.).
- Janet McKenzie, Arthur Boyd: Art and life, 'Collaborative projects', pg.130-55, London, 2000, 139-140, 141 (colour illus.), 143.
- Sam Neill, Celebrity choice: Sam Neill, Sydney, 1987, front cover (colour illus.). catalogue entry; no catalogue numbers; not paginated
- Barry Pearce, Arthur Boyd retrospective, Sydney, 1993, cover (colour illus.), 108 (colour illus.). cat.no. 108
- Barry Pearce, Look, 'The legacy in Sydney Arthur Boyd', pg. 18-20, Melbourne, Jul 1999, 19 (colour illus.), 20.
- Campbell Reid (Editor), The Weekend Australian, Sydney, 01 May 1999-02 May 1999, 23, 24 (colour illus.).
- Natalie Wilson, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'Out of Melbourne: realisms and mythologies', pg. 163-164, Sydney, 2000, 164, 182 (colour illus., detail), 183 (colour illus.), 300.