Notes

Wilhelm Kuhnert blurred the boundaries between art and science. A renowned animal painter, he researched obsessively in his quest to depict his subjects with anatomical accuracy, in appropriate natural habitats. Kuhnert travelled extensively, undertaking three expeditions to Africa, in 1891–2, 1905 and 1911. The Transvaal Exhibition in Berlin in 1897 was most likely the impetus for the painting of this work, which Kuhnert authority Dr Angelika Grettmann-Werner dates to c.1896–1898, based on its style and signature.

The theme of the painting is probably the Dorsland Trek. Seeking political independence and better living conditions, groups of trekboere migrated from South Africa to Namibia and Angola, beginning in 1874 and continuing into the early twentieth century. The conditions on these treks were extremely harsh and almost 3000 people are believed to have died along the way. The location depicted is thought to be Damaraland, approximately 400 km south of the Angolan border (not far from the coast), with the Brandberg in the distance. The clothing of the ‘touleiers’ is typical of the Nama people and the oxen belong to the Sanga species found in Botswana and Namibia.

Kuhnert manages to capture the wide expanses of the Namib Desert masterfully, giving prominence to the indigenous welwitschia plants (welwitschia mirabilis), first described by the European Friedrich Welwitsch in 1859. His rendering of the horse attests to his skill as an animal painter. The pointillist sky is a nod to Post-impressionism, the international art movement popular at the time. Wilhelm Kuhnert’s works are represented in numerous international private and public collections and this work is a significant discovery, as southern African scenes by Kuhnert are extremely rare. Early depictions of the Dorsland Trek and the flora of the Namib Desert are equally rare, making this painting an important cultural historical document.

With thanks to Dr Angelika Grettmann-Werner for confirming the authenticity of this work. It will be included in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist as work No. 6499.

Literature

cf. Wilhelm Haacke and Wilhelm Kuhnert (1901) Das Thierleben der Erde (Animal Life on Earth), Berlin: M. Oldenbourg.

cf. Max Eschner (1902) Deutschlands Kolonien, Leipzig: FE Wachsmuth.