oil on canvas

(1)

51 x 66.5 cm

Purchased directly from the artist by a professor at Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital, University of Pretoria, in 1930, and remained in the same family for 66 years. It was sold by this family to the current owner in 1996.

Notes:

During the Dutch and European exile of the Pierneef family at the turn of the nineteenth century, the young Pierneef was exposed to various Modernist trends and influences. However, having settled once again in Pretoria at the end of 1903 and with a well-received first solo exhibition in 1913, Pierneef’s creative interests steered him further away from the darker and more restrained Dutch palette as he began to explore the natural surrounds on the outskirts of Pretoria. Here he would steady his easel to either draw or paint, capturing the effect of light on the wide-ranging textures and colour variations of the South African veld.Before long he began to focus on the exceptional compositional qualities of the wide variety of indigenous and exotic trees he encountered on these outings. This interest in trees was already evident at his 1913 exhibition, which was dominated by his depiction of the willow tree, a tree he admired and loved to draw and paint throughout his life.With numerous successful exhibitions and sales Pierneef decided to become a full-time painter in 1919 at the age of 33. During the latter part of the 1920s as he continued to experiment and explore ways of establishing his artistic identity, he was awarded a major commission from the South African Railways and Harbours in 1929 to create 32 panels for the Park Station in Johannesburg depicting the unique characteristics of the South African landscape and well-known landmarks.Whilst travelling to remote corners of the country and the former South West Africa (Namibia) to document particular settings for possible implementation in these panels, Pierneef was known to stopover and linger especially in the Bushveld regions to paint at leisure to satisfy his own creative needs. In all probability The Commando Tree on the Road to Sibasa, which was painted in 1930 was the result of one of these breakaways where the artist stumbled upon an exceptional wild fig tree close to a Northern Sotho settlement in the Limpopo Province. Due to its close proximity to the village depicted in the background this majestic tree might have been used as a traditional court or lekgotla.Of particular importance here is confirmation yet again of the artist’s enduring interest in trees as a central structural element and compositional device which he skilfully applied to enhance the overall organisation of the picture plane. In many of Pierneef’s paintings trees form the immediate centre stage gradually guiding the eye of the observer into the central and distant interior of the landscape. This technique is further illustrated in two of the station panels entitled Bosveld, Transvaal and Okahandja, S.W.A.

Eunice Basson

Sources:

Bouman, AC. 1935. Kuns in Suid-Afrika. Kaapstad: HAUM v/h Jacques Dusseau & Co.

Coetzee, NJ. 1986. Pierneef en die noordelike Romantiese tradisie. Historia 31 (1).

Coetzee, NJ. 1992. Pierneef, Land and Landscape. The Johannesburg Station Panels in Context. Johannesburg: CBM Publishing.

Grosskopf, JFW. 1945. Hendrik Pierneef. Die Man en Sy Werk. Pretoria: JL van Schaik.

Nel, PG. (Ed). 1990. JH Pierneef. His life and his work. A cultural and historical study published in co-operation with the University of Pretoria. Johannesburg: Perskor.