bronze on a wooden base

Artwork date: 1907
Signature details: signed and inscribed 'Fonderia G. Nisini Roma'
Literature: Duffey, A.E. (2008). Anton van Wouw: The Smaller Works. Pretoria: Protea Book House, another example from the edition illustrated on pp.61-62.; Duffey, A.E. (1981). Anton van Wouw 1862–1945 en die Van Wouwhuis. Pretoria: University of Pretoria, another example from the edition illustrated on p.32.

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19 x 52 x 23 cm

Notes:

Soon after Anton van Wouw moved from Pretoria to Doornfontein, Johannesburg in 1906, he started working on a series of thirteen smaller, more detailed sculptures, primarily
comprised of various intricate studies of traditional and historical African life. The Dagga Smoker is one of the most popular of these studies. Van Wouw himself was very fond of this piece. Having worked on it for nine months, he considered it his best work (Duffey 2008)1. The Dagga Smoker is a romanticised depiction of the historic and customary practice of smoking cannabis by using the earth pipe method – a distinctive tradition in Southern Africa. Here, van Wouw presents a highly realistic figure of a man in traditional attire, kneeling down to smoke from a reed inserted into the ground. In his right hand he holds a calabash. This particular lot is an outstanding bronze cast, made at the distinguished Giovanni Nisini Foundry in Rome.

The exquisite dark brown patina accentuates Van Wouw’s fine modelling of the human form, his detailing of the figure’s facial expression, features and mannerisms, and the impeccable finishing of smooth, highly polished surfaces which contrast beautifully with various texred parts. Van Wouw is well regarded for his large sculptures, but it is in the smaller works, like The Dagga Smoker, that one sees his observational and technical mastery. The attention to composition is evident as he worked from life, staging his models in the imaginative dramas he wanted to portray. In 1908, Van Wouw presented his first solo exhibition in Johannesburg, showing the entire series of new Italian-cast sculptures, including The Dagga Smoker. At the time, Van Wouw was entrenched in the Johannesburg art world, and was befriended by the influential Sir Lionel and Lady Florence Phillips, who were amongst his most important patrons and supported his exhibition by acquiring a number of the sculptures. When the Johannesburg Art Gallery, founded by Lady Phillips, opened in 1910, Van Wouw was the only South African artist represented in the initial bequeathed collection, which included The Dagga Smoker.

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