17th Jun, 2018 18:00
Historic, Modern & Contemporary Art
44
Walter Whall Battiss (South Africa 1906-1982)
Study I
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 1966
Signature details: signed and dated
Sold for R250,360
Estimated at R150,000 - R250,000
oil on canvas
Artwork date: 1966
Signature details: signed and dated
(1)
39 x 32.5 cm
Notes:
Walter Battiss had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and artistic exploration. An adventurer at heart, his extensive trips to distant destinations and archeological research took
different directions, each contributing to his creative approach and stylistic maturity. The symbolic power of Southern African rock art attracted him early on, and his interest in Ndebele beadwork, hieroglyphics, calligraphy and pre-Islamic cultures added a complex and continuing iconographic richness to his work from 1950s onwards. Battiss painted Study I in 1966. The previous year, he visitedadramaut in Southern Arabia to view the early rock engravings in the desert and to study the Yemeni alphabet, which in turn,shaped the Arabic alphabet. He also made use of the opportunity to investigate the Arabian source of the ‘designs’ he encountered on the East African coast. Battiss also travelled to Greece, Jordan
and Lebanon later that same year. Study I perfectly demonstrates Battiss in conceptual and experimental mode. Loosely, yet sensitively composed and seemingly handled spontaneously, the painting is classically intellectual, minimal and precise. Colours are restricted to a few warm tonalities, each separately applied in thick paint with a palette knife on a muted background. Drawn from the observational brush drawings he made during his expeditions, Battiss introduces flowing linear and simple calligraphic marks in solid black and a crescent moon motif in
sgraffito. One is unsure if these marks serve as witty decorative simulations of ancient Arabic script, or if the challenge to decode their possible hidden meanings should be accepted. They have become integral to Battiss’ visual and symbolic language. In 1967, Battiss collated his findings on the historical engravings and the Yemeni and Arabic scripts at Hadramaut. This research culminated in the creation of his own unique personalised alphabet – the Fook Script. The existence of this alphabet and the many sketches and more formal painterly abstract studies, like Study I, which Battiss produced during the 1960s, are evidence of the ideas and creative impetus that would later lead to his invention of Fook Island a decade later.
Marelize van Zyl
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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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