Strauss & co - 4 February 2013, Johannesburg

189 497 Maggie (Maria Magdalena) LAUBSER SOUTH AFRICAN 1886-1973 Still Life with Poppies signed and indistinctly dated ‘20; signed, dated ‘21 and inscribed ‘Stellenbosch’ on brown paper on the reverse oil on cardboard 33,5 by 39,5cm R350 000 – 500 000 PROVENANCE Purchased from artist/artist’s exhibition by Professsor Pieter van Braam, Stellenbosch; inherited by Mrs B van der Riet, Brakpan EXHIBITED Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), Johannesburg, 1975, catalogue number 7 LITERATURE Dalene Marais, Maggie Laubser: her paintings, drawings and graphics , Perskor Publishers, Johannesburg and Cape Town, 1994, page 136, catalogue number 260, illustrated Still Life with Poppies , painted in 1920, is an exquisite example of Maggie Laubser’s early works that rarely become available. It was purchased from the artist by Professor Pieter van Braam, Professor of Classics at Stellenbosch University, and has been in the same family for several generations. Laubser acknowledged the strong affinity she felt for Vincent van Gogh and his works: “I am very impressed with the work of the Hollander, Van Gogh. He was one of the most passionate painters who ever lived and the intensity of his vivid impressions can be compared with the image which we perceive when a flash of lightning brightens the world for a moment.” 1 Like the works of Van Gogh, Still Life with Poppies communicates the artist’s inner vision through the simplification of form and intensified colour. The painting is animated with bold colour contrasts, strong faceted forms and playful reflections. Paintings of such superb quality and provenance, with documented exhibition histories and literature, rarely come to the market these days. 1. Dalene Marais, Maggie Laubser: her paintings, drawings and graphics , Perskor, Johannesburg and Cape Town, 1994, page 33.