51 - JACOB HENDRIK PIERNEEF (SOUTH AFRICAN 1886-1957)

JACOB HENDRIK PIERNEEF (SOUTH AFRICAN 1886-1957) DAR EL SALEM [SIC] titled and dated DARES SALEM Feb. 18. 1926 lower left pencil and watercolour on paper 24.4 x 34.3cm (48.3 x 57.3cm framed) Property from a Private Collection, Cambridge Provenance Acquired by the artist's daughter, Marita Pierneef-Bailey Acquired from the above by Dr CL Botha Sale, Strauss and Co Fine Art Auctioneers Acquired from the above by The DinksFãStan Private Collection, Cambridge, UK Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef was born on 13 August 1886 in Pretoria from Dutch parents. Pierneef started his high school career at the Staatsmodelschool in Pretoria, and it was here that he started his art classes. With the war of 1900 between the Boers and the English, the Pierneef family decided to move back to the Netherlands in 1901 where Hendrik continued his schooling. This experience brought Pierneef into contact with the works of the old masters and it had a lasting impression on him. He studied part time at the Rotterdamse Kunsakademie. He was a changed man when he returned to South Africa at the age of 18. Back in Pretoria the young artist crossed paths with other already established artists like Anton van Wouw, Hugo Naude, Frans Oerder, and also the Irish artist George Smithard who played an important role in the teaching of the graphic mediums like etching and linocuts. On 12 January 1926, Pierneef and his newly married second wife Marian Frances Schoop sailed on a cargo freighter, SS Toba, to South Africa via Port Said down the east coast. On this honeymoon trip he painted a number of his most spontaneous impressionistic pictures recorded. As the SS Toba remained docked in Dar es Salaam in the third week of February 1926 for several days, Pierneef was able to sketch several atmospheric views of the old town, whether from the steamer's deck or on shore. They were the only two passengers on board which allowed Pierneef to set up his easel and use his sketchbook to capture the exotic vernacular architecture and harbour scenes of Dar es Salaam en plein air. Together with lot x, these waterolours further highlight his fascination with tropical light, palm trees, and coastal streetscapes, presenting an extremely rare departure from his more usual depiction South African scenery into East African urban and coastal subjects.