The Australian wedding hall, which sparked a furious online backlash over the painting on its wall, has removed the artwork and apologized for any discomfort it caused.
The Red Leaf Wollombi in New South Wales’ picturesque Hunter Valley came under fire after a wedding party was photographed smiling in front of this painting.
Critics accused Redleaf of displaying artwork showing the massacres of indigenous peoples, but the painting in question actually depicts the Portuguese colonization of Brazil.
“We deeply apologize for any offense related to the painting on display at Redleaf. We did not intend to offend anyone and have now removed the painting,” the venue told news.com.au. said in a statement.
“Those who have stayed at Red Leaf will recognize that there is a great deal of artwork throughout the property, including art by indigenous and emerging artists.
“But the main painting that has dominated the debate is wallpaper. Brazilian landscape (1829) was designed by Jean-Julien Deltil, an artist employed by the French Suubert Manufacture in the 19th century. The manufacturer still produces this wallpaper using an original image by travel artist Johann Mortiz Rugendas.
“The three panels on display were handed down to the owner of Redleaf through a close family friend who passed away several years ago. These panels form part of a larger landscape of 30 panels. To do you can see here.
“We deeply apologize to learn over the weekend that some people were offended by the painting in our social media photos (which has since been deleted). We are very sorry to have caused anyone pain by watching this was not our intention.
“When the NSW Art Gallery jointly held an exhibition of similar works with the National Gallery of Australia, John McPhee noted that the artists of 1829 were aware of the ill effects of European civilization on various cultures. I wrote that I was “impressed” by seeing .
“Beside this wallpaper, I keep a complete transcript of the John McPhee article and images of all 30 panels. Redleaf’s deliberate effort to make history fully comprehensible.
“Again, we sincerely apologize for all the pain these images may have caused. All images of the paintings have been removed from Instagram and now Views of Brazil has been removed, so the exhibition Not.
“We respectfully ask that you immediately cease any comments to our clients (bride and groom) or other suppliers (including photographers). It’s simply not true.”
A screenshot of Redleaf’s first Instagram post was previously uploaded by Dreamtime Aroha.
“There’s nothing like getting married and posing in front of Aboriginal people being massacred by settlers,” he wrote on Facebook.
On Instagram, the screenshot was captioned: This was sent to me because the person wasn’t familiar with how to approach the venue.
The post was then shared by TV and radio personality Abbie Chatfield, who has 451,000 Instagram followers.
People on social media said they contacted the venue and asked them to remove the painting, with some suggesting it be replaced with a work by an indigenous artist.
“This is enviable. I’m going to send a message to the venue, and I think we all (and by all of us, I mean allies) need to start doing that. It’s okay if we don’t have the most eloquent words, we just need to express our feelings about it and make it clear that it needs to go down,” one person wrote.
“How could the wedding planners, photographers and wedding guests not notice this infamous piece of art? Hey, pose in front of the carnage. Shame on all involved.” No,” said another.
“Why on earth would they think an image depicting a murder would be appropriate for a wedding hall? And who thought, “The bride and groom would love the image of the murder in their wedding photo, this is perfect… what?!”
The popular wedding venue website, which also offers accommodation, includes suggestions for things to do in the area, including tours with Aboriginal guides.
“Experience the rich Aboriginal and colonial history of the convict-built Great North Road, museums and historic buildings,” it says.
“The name ‘Wolombi’ comes from an Aboriginal word meaning ‘meeting place’ or ‘sea meeting place’.”