Notes

'A work such as his In Africa cannot be seen as erotic, despite the attention given to sexual characteristics. Scratched onto a background of broadly applied strokes of brightly coloured paint, the lines conjure up a fertile crowd of human beings, their proximity within the tight space emphasising their physical awareness of each other. This is a luscious painting. Its decorative qualities are as delightful as its content. And one smiles when, on reading through the ingeniously related figures, one comes upon a girl whose breasts have risen vertically in a mood of special exuberance.'¹

1. Raymund van Niekerk (1985) 'Humour in Battiss', in Karin Skawran and Michael Macnamara (eds) Battiss, Johannesburg: AD Donker, page 99.

Provenance

Private Collection Murray Schoonraad.

Literature

Karin Skawran (2005) Walter Battiss: Gentle Anarchist, Johannesburg: Standard Bank Gallery, illustrated in colour on page 101.

Karin Skawran and Michael MacNamara (eds) (1985) Battiss, Johannesburg: AD Donker, page 99 and illustrated in colour on page 97 as plate 19.