charcoal

Signature details: signed
Literature: Botha, E. (1964). Die lewe en skilderwerk van Maggie Laubser. Ongepubliseerde MA-verhandeling. Universiteit van Pretoria, catalogue number 169., Marais, D. (1994). Maggie Laubser: Her Paintings, Drawings and Graphics. Johannesburg and Cape Town: Perskor, illustration on p.239, catalogue number 850

(1)

53.5 x 40 cm

Mr R. Dayson, Pretoria. Mr C.J. Claasens, Pretoria. Mr R.D. Claasens inherited from the Estate of Mr C.J. Claasens

Notes:

In her 1994 catalogue raisonné of Laubser’s works Dalene Marais (1994:239) listed Portrait of a Woman with Dotted Apron, no. 850, as a work created between the years of 1932 and 1950, a period of exhibitions throughout the country, coinciding with public recognition. After returning from Germany in 1924, Laubser joined the New Group and was invited to exhibit in Cape Town. She was cruelly disillusioned after her work was received with fierce criticism. Following the outrage of local critics, Laubser continued to work, braving the poverty that overwhelmed the farming community during the depression years. She embarked upon an exploration of regions such as the former Transkei (Eastern Cape) and Natal (KwaZulu-Natal) and made numerous portraits of Indian and African women. In his monograph on Laubser, Johann van Rooyen (1974:17) observed that Laubser “accepted Africa and its peoples as an everyday norm. From choice she painted the Coloured people of the Cape, not as exotic creatures of nature, but as fellow human beings in who she perceived her own simple needs.” Laubser captured her subject descriptively and in detail, using grey tone values to emphasise roundness of form, while line clearly defines form. According to Elza Botha (Marais 1994:239) this portrait had the now-problematic title of “Meid met voorskoot” (Young Woman with Apron). The voluminous headdress and spots on both cheeks are reminiscent of the young woman’s rural (possibly Xhosa) background, contrasting with the spotted apron, which is indicative of the more domesticated environment that she presently inhabits.

Johan Myburg

Sources:

Marais, D. (1994). Maggie Laubser: Her Paintings, Drawings and Graphics. Johannesburg and Cape Town: Perskor.

Van Rooyen, J. (1974). Maggie Laubser. Cape Town and Johannesburg: Struik.

LITERATURE

Botha, E. (1964). Die lewe en skilderwerk van Maggie Laubser. Ongepubliseerde MA-verhandeling. Universiteit van Pretoria, catalogue number 169.

Marais, D. (1994). Maggie Laubser: Her Paintings, Drawings and Graphics. Johannesburg and Cape Town: Perskor. Illustrated on page 239, catalogue number 850.

PROVENANCE

Mr. C.J. Claasens, Pretoria acquired the work from Mr. R. Dayson, Pretoria. Mr. R.D. Claasens inherited the drawing from the estate off Mr. C.J. Claasens.