Notes

The proceeds from the sale of this lot will benefit the Irma Stern Trust.

The Portuguese island archipelago known as Madeira lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, southwest of Portugal. It was claimed by sailors in the service of Prince Henry the Navigator in 1419 and settled the following year. Madeira’s strategic position and its sugarcane production enabled Portugal to extend its influence in the sea trade, heralding the age of European expansion and the search for new lands and colonies in the centuries that followed. 

The subtropical islands of Madeira attracted Stern for the first time in 1931 after the failure of her marriage. It was here, recovering from her resultant breakdown, that she produced some of her most disturbing portraits of outcasts on the fringes of society. The exotic climate and dramatic topography suited Stern’s expressionistic style, which is why she returned in 1950 and again in 1962 and 1963, on each occasion creating works that captured the island’s unique verdant and historic allure.

The Fort of São João Baptista do Pico was built to protect the island of Funchal against pirates and it occupies a lofty vantage point above the harbour. Stern depicts this Fort in monumental terms from below, describing the steep hillside gradient. Lush vegetation is painted in typical expressive brush strokes in a tropical palette of warm ochres, yellows, pinks and red, off-set against a lively sea of emerald green tones. A darkly attired figure stands by an open doorway in stark contrast against the dynamic tableau unfolding above.

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