Strauss & co - 11 November 2019, Johannesburg

51 40 Jacob Hendrik Pierneef SOUTH AFRICAN 1886–1957 Evening Glow, Bushveld signed and dated ‘46 oil on board 45 by 59,5 cm R2 000 000 – 3 000 000 Pierneef was passionate about the bushveld and took every possible opportunity to trek into the veld to study the landscape and make quick sketches and drawings of trees, mountains, and clouds, which he would later manipulate in his studio when composing his characteristic, and quite impressive landscapes. A Pierneef landscape thus is a representation of the land which is no longer tied to time or place. It has been elevated to a symbol of the intrigue of the bushveld. ‘What is a landscape?’, Pierneef once asked. ‘Is it the rough upper surface of the earth or the effect of its internal construction? What is a tree? Is it a colourful play of sparks of light between moving roofs of leaves or is it an organic form of life given expression in the balance of its branches and trunk?’ 4 Pierneef amply answers his own questions in these two brilliant landscapes. 1. PJ Nel (ed) (1990) JH Pierneef: His life and his Work . Cape Town: Perskor, page 94. 2. Ibid, page 70. 3. Ibid, page 109. 4. Ibid, page 156.