Strauss & co - 5 June 2017, Johannesburg

181 228 Jacob Hendrik Pierneef SOUTH AFRICAN 1886–1957 Extensive Landscape with Mountains signed and indistinctly dated 1937 casein on paper laid down on paper 24 by 29 cm R500 000 – 700 000 Because of their rarity and their brilliance, Pierneef’s caseins are often considered to be his jewels. Casein, similar to poster paint or gouache, is a very strongly adhesive substance made from fresh curd, the proteins in which act as a binding agent. Pierneef discovered the medium for himself while he was awaiting art supplies ordered from the Schweickerdts firm in Pretoria, and its quick- drying properties suited his experimentation with impressionism and pointillism. The present lot is evidence of Pierneef’s mastery of the casein medium. With its small scale, detailed composition and twinkling colour, the work is a dazzling example of his dexterity as an artist. Each brushstroke is eye-catching; ‘each,’AC Bouman has noted, ‘is a facet of a cut crystal which the sharp cutter, Pierneef, has taken in his hand’. 1 1 AC Bouman. (1938) Art in South Africa , Cape Town: AA Balkema, page 77.