Important South African and International Art, Decorative Arts & Jewellery

Live Auction, 15 October 2018

Art: Evening Session

Sold for

ZAR 182 080
Lot 539
  • Frans Oerder; Azaleas in a Vase


Lot Estimate
ZAR 160 000 - 200 000
Selling Price
Incl. Buyer's Premium & VAT
ZAR 182 080

About this Item

South African 1867-1944
Azaleas in a Vase
signed
oil on canvas
78 by 97cm excluding frame

Notes

Frans Oerder was well known for his technically accomplished floral still lifes. This painting depicts bright clusters of citrus-hued azaleas in a blue-green Chinese stoneware vase decorated with a floral motif. Described with purposeful brushstrokes, the vibrancy of the flower display is amplified by its arrangement against a neutral background receding into shadow. The artist’s interest in colour and tone are self-evident. For all his obvious facility as a naturalist painter, Oerder was capable of spontaneity and play. A close-up view of the orange and yellow flower at the lip of the stoneware vessel, just left of what appears to be a painted chip, reveal Oerder’s casual mastery of his medium. His use of paint here is energetic and unpremeditated. Commenting on these spontaneous moments in his later works, art historian Frieda Harmsen noted how Oerder, working in a “subdued impressionistic way, exaggerated tone values, strengthened colour or adapted shapes of organic forms to give greater distinction and visual interest to mundane objects.”1 The chief elements of Oerder’s composition – the flowering azaleas and Far-Eastern stoneware vessel – are well-known elements of Chinoiserie and Japonisme, styles in western art characterized by the use of Chinese and Japanese motifs and techniques. Oerder’s blissful work makes an appreciative nod to this earlier modernising influence. - Sean O’Toole

  1. Frieda Harmsen (1985). Looking at South African Art, Pretoria: JL van Schaik. Page 16.

View all Frans Oerder lots for sale in this auction


Other lots that might interest you
Edward Roworth; Carnations
Edward Roworth
Carnations
ZAR 10 000 - 15 000
Hugo Naudé; Mountain Landscape with Wild Flowers
Hugo Naudé
Mountain Landscape with Wild Flowers
ZAR 80 000 - 120 000
Frans Oerder; Peonies
Frans Oerder
Peonies
ZAR 100 000 - 150 000
Maggie Laubser; Mietje
Maggie Laubser
Mietje
ZAR 1 000 000 - 1 500 000
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef; Purple Mountains
Jacob Hendrik Pierneef
Purple Mountains
ZAR 100 000 - 150 000
Maggie Laubser; Cat and Pumpkin, recto; Still Life with Sunflowers, verso
Maggie Laubser
Cat and Pumpkin, recto; Still Life with Sunflowers, verso
ZAR 1 500 000 - 2 000 000