Dutch Reformed Church, Wynberg, Cape

Provenance

Dr and Mrs M S London, Surrey.

Mr Tony Felbert, Cape Town.

Private Collection.

Literature

Gregoire Boonzaier and Lippy Lipshitz (1949) Wenning, Cape Town: Unie-Volkspers, illustrated in black and white, plate 60.

J du P Scholtz (1973) D C Boonzaier en Pieter Wenning - Verslag van 'n Vriendskap, Cape Town: Tafelberg, illustrated in black and white on page 103.

Notes

Born in The Hague, Pieter Wenning displayed artistic talent from an early age. Yet, despite early encouragement to pursue formal training, he initially supported himself as a railwayman in Amsterdam, painting and drawing in his spare time. A position at J H de Bussy in 1905 saw Wenning produce several Highveld landscapes. His paintings, however, were not well received, and he was pressured to produce works that favoured photographic and idealised versions of nature. Critics found Wenning's subjects sombre and his palette lacking in vibrancy than those of his fellow artists.

Wenning moved to the Cape in 1917, and it was here that he found himself as an artist, painting landscapes that were deeply resonant with his native homeland. Wenning worked feverishly en plein air, with very little concern for the weather or his health. He was often seen roaming the neighbourhoods in Cape Town's southern suburbs - Observatory, Mowbray, Wynberg, Newlands, Claremont, Plumstead, and Bishopscourt.

It was on one such excursion that the present lot was produced. The composition is anchored by a stand of large trees lining a soiled pathway rendered in russet hues, leading the viewer's eye towards the whitewashed walls of a church. A maroon spire echoes the lush emeralds, ochres, and umbers, breaking against the grey and blue clouds of the Cape sky. Wenning’s staccato brushstrokes are assured, his colours peculiar to him and masterfully atmospheric. The present lot captures the zeitgeist of his Cape period and proving his profound attunement to the natural world.

Esmé Berman (1983) Art and Artists of South Africa, Cape Town: Southern Book Publishers, page 495.

Gregoire Boonzaier and Lippy Lipshitz (1949) Wenning, Cape Town: Unie-Volkspers Beperk.