Pierneef, painter of breath-taking landscapes, in Strauss & Co boutique auction
Strauss & Co is pleased to announce a single-artist auction devoted to one of South Africa’s most renowned and iconic painters, JH Pierneef.
26 July 2021 at 6pm
The selection of works gathered for the auction include paintings, drawings as well as linocuts made by Jacob Hendrik Pierneef. IN/SIGHT: JH PIERNEEF will be conducted by Dr. Alastair Meredith, head of Strauss & Co’s art department, as a live-streamed auction due to Covid-19 regulations.
“My hope is that this focused sale will provide collectors with a sense of the development of this artist’s remarkable career. Pierneef’s deep affection for the South African soil and his flair for the dramatic make his pictures at once familiar and thrilling.” stated Alastair Meredith.
Pierneef’s leading subject was the South African landscape. He is best known for his reputable depictions of breath-taking vistas, cloudbursts and moving bushveld silhouettes. The lots featured in IN/SIGHT: JH PIERNEEF encompass all these subjects. It also showcases his expertise with oil, casein, watercolor, pastel, graphite, etching and linocut. He truly was a master of many mediums.
About painting on auction
Landscape with Rocks and Trees showcases Pierneef’s skillful organization of space and his capacity to manifest remoteness amongst the heart of nature. Clouds over the Karoo, on the other hand, shows a monumental and architectonic cloud formation high above a moody and stunningly beautiful Karoo landscape. These two oil paintings date from the two different decades of Pierneef’s prolific career.
Other high-value oils available for auction include Landscape with Trees and Aloe. This amazing painting depicts a spectacular unfolding scenery rendered in a beautifully modulated palette. Acacia in the Veld (1940) on the other hand, shows a bushveld scene capturing the unadulterated beauty of the dry winter months of South Africa. All of Pierneef’s paintings have differentiations as well as similarities. All are landscapes in Africa, but often differ in medium as well as color scheme and painting technique.
A majestic, amplified acacia tree is depicted in Bushveld Tree. A painting defined by a peaceful color pallet that gives the viewer a sense of harmony. Pierneef blends his colors skillfully and professionally to give his art a graceful look. Painted in 1952, the glorious Cloudburst Storm showcases the artist’s extraordinary ability to interpret nature’s conditions and events. Pierneef’s innate sense of natural drama and appropriate use of color is also evident. Pierneef’s soft and contrasting color pallet offers viewers a feeling of true beauty and tranquility, even amongst the cloudy storm picture.
Other paintings also up for auction
Pierneef has also painted views of Namibia, Seychelles as well as Zanzibar. IN/SIGHT: JH PIERNEEF includes several Namibian scenes. “Pierneef’s Namibian pictures are shot through with an electric glow,” says Meredith, who has authored an e-catalogue to accompany the sale. “He certainly delighted in the shifting colors and patterns over the landscape as the sun arced through a clear, vast sky.”
IN/SIGHT: JH PIERNEEF also includes a striking assortments of prints. The prices of these prints will be severely lowered due to the fact that they are not the original paintings.
