Black Coffee Pot

Notes

In 1950 Erik Laubscher went to Paris to study art at the Académie Montmartre. His still lifes from this period reveal the strong influence of Bernard Buffet, a Parisian painter linked to the New Realist school of French Expressionism, and Fernand Léger, a Cubist painter under whom Laubscher trained. Léger’s influence can be seen clearly in this painting of a coffee pot and a cup on a table, with a few scattered cherries.

Laubscher's highly developed sense of composition, derived from his understanding and appreciation of Léger and of Georges Braque, provides structure and visual excitement. Léger's theories of light, inspired by studies of stained-glass windows, were clearly a strong influence on the younger artist.

These skills and experiences were generously shared with his peers and his many students after his return to South Africa. In acknowledging the role, he played as an artist, educator and impassioned arts activist for over half a century, particularly in the Western Cape, Hans Fransen maintains that "few people have played a more decisive role than Erik Laubscher in changing a largely parochial, conservative climate into an environment much more receptive to art in all its manifestations".¹

^1. Hans Fransen (2009) Erik Laubscher: A Life in Art, Stellenbosch: SMAC, page 2.