Strauss & co - 20 May 2013, Johannesburg

126 235 Jacob Hendrik PIERNEEF south african 1886–1957 Rustenberg Kloof signed oil on canvas 44,5 by 54,5 cm R600 000–900 000 provenance Acquired directly from the artist by the current owner’s father-in-law, circa 1934–42, and thence by descent notes Throughout his lifetime Pierneef completed several versions of Rustenberg Kloof. The most famous is probably the large mural produced for the Johannesburg Railway Station, currently on exhibition at the Rupert Museum. A far more linear, controlled version of the theme than the current lot. The hues in this painting depict the subdued colours of the Transvaal landscape in winter. The ‘monumental order’ 1 for which Pierneef’s work is renowned gives way here to a more impressionistic painterly effect – by omitting his characteristic line and brushwork the artist conjures a less formal scene where tone and colour take precedence over delineation and form. Compared with his 1935 version of the same subject in the Pretoria Art Museum collection (illustrated Berman, 1974, page 39), where structure and form are the dominant features of the painting, there is a freedom of movement and form which, although infrequently discussed, is an important aspect of Pierneef’s oeuvre. By comparison one sees how the current lot is formally free from the structural rigidity of such examples. Esmé Berman has observed how the variation in Pierneef’s styles reflect his oscillation between conflicting psychological objectives: ‘on one hand there was his emotional desire to translate the drama of the land’s formations … into terms of colour as expressive as his line; on another was his idealistic aim to project the order, harmony and system underlying natural creation’. 2 In this example of Rustenburg Kloof, nature’s order and harmony is expressed in terms of colour – the kloof’s bright pink and blue tones convey structure and organisation, darker earth tones relay the symmetry and order of the midground vegetation which is, in turn, contrasted with the bright yellows and khakis of the foreground grasslands. The scene communicates depth of field and order, void of delineated form, an image produced exclusively through the masterly manipulation of colour and tone. 1. Berman, Esmé. The Story of South African Painting . A.A. Balkema, Cape Town and Rotterdam, 1974, page 39 2. Berman, Esmé. Art & Artists of South Africa . A.A. Balkema, Cape Town and Rotterdam, 1983, page 330