Notes

This intimate casein contains all the classical elements of a typical Pierneef composition: Highveld thorn trees in the foreground; blue mountain range in the middle ground; and his characteristic, bulbous clouds in the background. Compared to Jonkershoek, the previous lot, this casein appears more painterly than pointillist in application, the brushstrokes applied in a horizontal movement, rather than in short, brusque vertical dabs. These aspects all add to the atmospheric feeling evoked in the landscape. The reflection of the orange and yellow rays of the setting sun off the clouds, in contrast to the dark browns and purples of the trees and mountains, adds to the calmness of the scene.

Landscape painting in South Africa, according to Esmé Berman, falls neatly, albeit conveniently into two categories: traditional and contemporary, with the former signalling paintings in which the visual subject is more-or-less descriptively handled, and the latter, paintings in which the subject has undergone varying degrees of abstract transformation. Pierneef’s Highveld Landscape with Clouds straddles both categories.

Provenance

A wedding present to the current owner's parents.