The concept of a guided short-walk examining the history of certain works of art and well-known artists is familiar to anyone who has travelled to Europe. Finding one in regional Victoria should come as no surprise, given the iconic works of art from the likes of Nicholas Chevalier, Eugene von Guerard, and others.
So, it turns out Beechworth has served as something of a base for frontier artists. And the Beechworth Artscape Walk is led by Jamie Kronborg, who is passionate about the area and its art history. You get the sense that he knows much more than he has time to share in the course of a guided walk!
He calls this tour ‘A short walk with a story’, and says, “Walking around Beechworth you can hear the echoes of history in the streetscapes and imagine what life was like here in the 1800s.” It’s true, and with a few visual aids of iconic and easily recognisable 19th Century paintings, Jamie transports tour participants back to the emergence of a new European culture in Australia – one heavily influenced by the land and life on it.