Vissershawe, Hermanus (Nilant 5)

Literature

Nilant, F.E.G (1974) Pierneef Linoseë, Cape Town: A. A. Balkema, another impression from the edition illustrated in black and white on page 35.

Gerard de Kamper and Chris de Klerk (2014) JH Pierneef in Print, Bela-Bela: Dream Africa, another impression from the edition illustrated in black and white on page 9.

Notes

Vissershawe, Hermanus demonstrates Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s mastery of graphic composition and his ability to reduce complex landscapes to structural clarity. Renowned for his monumental architectural perspective and distinctive graphic style, Pierneef renders the rugged coastal contours and historic fishing precinct of Hermanus using strong contrast and deliberate linework.

By stripping away colour, Pierneef used the relief print format to hone the structural lines of the coastal rock faces and architectural forms of the fishing precinct. The linocut offers a pure, graphic distillation of the geometric layout Pierneef mapped out for both the oil study and the final station panel, that was commissioned in 1929 by Transnet.

Catalogued as Nilant 5 in F E G Nilant’s authoritative oeuvre catalogue (1974) on Pierneef’s linocuts, this print represents an iconic piece of South African graphic art, appealing strongly to collectors of early 20th century modernist prints and local landscape heritage.