17th Jun, 2018 18:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
33
Irma Stern (South Africa 1894-1966)
Still life with Chrysanthemums in the artist’s handmade ceramic jug
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 1950
Signature details: signed and dated; inscribed with the title on an exhibition label on the reverse
Sold for R3,414,000
Estimated at R3,000,000 - R5,000,000
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 1950
Signature details: signed and dated; inscribed with the title on an exhibition label on the reverse
(1)
85 x 63 cm
Notes:
Titles can silence the evocative power of paintings and inhibit a search for meaning beyond the picture frame. This painting is presented with a descriptive title since the only evidence of what may have been Stern’s title is a 1980 exhibition catalogue entry: ‘Chrysanth(a)mums (sic)’. The question arises – if the flowers are chrysanthemums why are they given such cursory treatment by an artist renowned for her ability to convey the characters of flowering plants? The foliage bears a generalised resemblance to the tooth-edged leaflets of the Chrysanthemum genus and close examination of the flower forms reveals several linear indications of small petals in the impasto brushwork, knife marks and incised lines of the dominant central blooms. We can deduce that chrysanthemums probably provided Stern’s source material but she chose not to portray these flowers in the realistexpressionist
style she developed successfully throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The descriptive title provides a reason for her decision; this is a painting with ‘the artist’s handmade jug’. The artist’s creative practice as painter and ceramist suggests that the painting represents Stern using pictorial language to reflect on her complex artistic identity in 1950. Her handmade ceramic jug, dated 1949, features the back view of a nude woman against white drapery, and Stern’s signature and date are prominent images in the upper right space. The dates are relevant. Stern remained in Africa during the second World War, and on her return to Europe in 1946 and 1950, she reconnected with her European heritage and studied current European painting. This still life painting is about Stern, woman and artist in a post-war era, confronting change. This boldly simplified painting asserts the artist’s pictorial languageand evokes the issues of how different cultural contexts influence art practice, and whether artists embrace or reject change in their physical and cultural environments.
Marion Arnold
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Auction: Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art, 17th Jun, 2018
In a slow and unresponsive market, amid tight economic conditions generally in South Africa, Aspire Art Auctions made impressive statements and set several world records.
Two rare works by Irma Stern achieved sparkling results. The top lot by value: Still life with magnolias, apples and bowl (1949), fetched R6 828 000, the highest price achieved for a work by Stern for over a year. Another significant still life, Still life with chrysanthemums in the artist’s handmade ceramic jug, from 1950, sold for R3 414 000.
A significant, world record was achieved for Peter Clarke – R1 479 400 for Lazy Day, an acrylic and gouache on paper from 1975, and records were also set for contemporary artists, Zander Blom and Paul Stopforth.
Viewing
Thursday 14 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Friday 15 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Saturday 16 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
Sunday 17 June 2018 | 10 am – 5 pm
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