Melbourne from the Domain

The painting shows the city of Melbourne, including the towers of Scots' Church and Independent Church, with a picnic party surveying the view across the Yarra. Burn's work has a light and airy quality that was quite unusual for the period, and the foreground in particular is reminiscent of a pastoral idyll by Fragonard or Watteau.

It is thought that Henry Burn was taught drawing by Samuel Lines, one of the founders of the Birmingham School of Arts. Prior to his immigration to Australia in 1853, Burn travelled extensively throughout England and made lithographs of the towns he visited. Typically, these views contained carefully delineated representations of architectural landmarks. Similarly, in this painting the towers of Scots' Church, the Independent Church and Melbourne Town Hall particularly stand out. The open tower structure to the left of Scots' Church is the Fire Brigade Tower in Little Collins Street, which later made way for the George & George Emporium in 1884.