Literature

Brendan Bell (1988) Clément Sénèque: Life and Work, including Catalogue Raisonné, unpublished, Master of Arts Dissertation, University of Natal, Pietermatrizburg, page 1039.

Notes

In the present lot, Clément Sénèque masterfully captures a moment of industrial precision and maritime grandeur in Durban's harbour during the late 1920s. The present lot depicts a large sailing vessel, held in place within the concrete basin of a graving dock, while teams of workmen carry out essential maintenance along its imposing hull. The schooner, a multi-masted vessel historically favoured for its speed and agility, was often used for both trade and fishing. By the 1920s, schooners were increasingly fitted with auxiliary engines, though many retained traditional rigging, as is likely represented here.

The ship dominates the vertical composition, with its mast cutting clean lines into the brilliantly rendered summer sky. Sénèque's characteristic use of crisp architectural geometry is evident in the verticals of the masts and ladders, which are balanced by the diagonal braces and rigging securing the vessel. The lower half of the scene is anchored by shadow, while sunlight casts a warm brilliance onto the portside wall of the dock, the ship's hull and the crane on the right, conveying both the scale of the structure and the intensity of sunlight. The artist's meticulous attention to the industrial environment is heightened by his treatment of texture and surface: the sky is painted in a brisk cross-hatching technique, lending a dynamic rhythm and a tactile quality to the open atmosphere.

Cranes loom over the vessel, perched atop the drydock platforms, indicating the infrastructural sophistication of Durban Harbour at the time - a major port for maritime commerce in southern Africa. The presence of the workers and the utilitarian scaffolding and ladders speaks to a moment of active repair or preparation, possibly for a transoceanic voyage. The schooner itself, placed firmly within the dock but echoing a vessel at sea, becomes a poetic symbol of industry, transitio, and human endeavour. Sénèque, who trained as both an architect and an artist, was known for his ability to fuse structural discipline with luminous naturalism. This painting is a testament to his interest in modernity's built environments and their interaction with light, form, and human labour.

Hans Fransen (1982) Three Centuries of South African Art, Johannesburg: A D Donker, page 281.