Edward ‘Ned’ Kelly was a famous bushranger in the late 19th Century. Sidney Nolan painted the above painting of him, entitled First-class marksman, in 1946. The picture shows Kelly in a field of either flowers or small trees, with a gun. The landscape has dark green mountains, indicating that it is covered with trees, and a dirt coloured ground. Kelly has a blue-green shirt on, but that is covered by his black armour. His eyes are yellow colour, looking out to the landscape. He is hunting.
I believe this painting depicts Ned as a hero. This is because he is very prominent in the picture, as well as being the only person. The gun isn’t obvious as it camouflages into the background. This makes me think that Nolan only painted the gun as a technicality, rather than to add to the painting. Even his clothing is a similar colour to the landscape. His armour is what attracts the eye when you look at the painting. The armour is placed on him like a cape. This could possibly be Nolan painting Kelly as a hidden hero, rather than the bushranger title that he is famous for. Sidney Nolan painted a lot of paintings of Ned, so this could also be perceived as an obsession on Nolan’s part.
Courtney Mattick - Blog 
An interesting interpretation Courtney- well done! The only section I didn’t understand was “Even his clothing is a similar colour to the landscape.” But you can’t see his clothing… so I am not sure what you are referring to…
MG
Editing Needed (and some workshop follow-ups- see Purdue Owl for help: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/
* The landscape is has dark green mountains, = The landscape has dark green mountains, [ 2 verbs? ]
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Thanks Michael
If you look closely behind the armour, you can see what looks like a t-shirt sleeve hanging off of his arm.
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You are right 👍
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I thought that your interpretation of Ned Kelly was very interesting Courtney! I am particularly interested in how you have perceived Ned’s armour as a form of ‘cape’, symbolically inventing him as a ‘hero’. I agree with this, however I believe that contrast of the black armour against the pale scenery could act as a form of pure identification for Ned himself as his armour is truly iconic. I also like how you have noticed his clothing and highlighted how the sleeves blend with the nature. This made me further think about the identification of Ned and if this could perhaps be a further statement on how the armour does/does not define him? I guess that could be left to interpretation! I think maybe to strengthen your blog you could add some more historical information about Ned himself and how he is perceived to highlight you interpretation of him as a hero. Perhaps you could also talk a little more about the different techniques used and contrasting colours to really back up what you are saying! I really like this blog!
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Thanks so much for your feedback!
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