Strauss & co - 6 March 2017, Cape Town

217 500 Jean WELZ SOUTH AFRICAN 1900–1975 Nude of a Young Girl signed and dated 45; signed and inscribed with the title and ‘Worcester, Cape’on the reverse oil on panel 44,5 by 25,5 cm R  –   Why does one involuntarily associate this thoughtful Nude with Venus, the goddess of love? Looking at her the two aspects of Venus immediately come to mind: ‘sexual attraction’and ‘spiritual love’. The voluptuousness of the woman physically attracts one while the subtle play of light on and around the body enhances her spirituality. Subtly Welz unites these opposites. The nude looks down contemplating the removal of the cloth covering her upper left leg. Occupied thus she is unaware of her heads oval and her legs conjuring up the shape of a heart. Metaphorically the head and the heart will connect when she finally removes the wrap. Then Venus will symbolically arise from the enclosure of Botticelli’s shell. Jean Welz performs another tour de force . Elza Miles