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Early Sekoto Portrait - Harbinger of things to come

9 Jun 2014

He participated in his first exhibition with the rest of Castle’s class at the Gainsborough Gallery in 1939 where he met Judith Gluckman who volunteered to teach him how to use oil paints as, at the time, he was only using “poster colours”. ¹  This painting was probably produced between 1939 and 1941 while Sekoto was receiving tutelage from Gluckman. The similarity of their techniques at the time is clear where the painted surface is affected with the same stippled texture that one sees in much of Gluckman’s painting. The present lot was purchased in the early 1940s and has remained in the family since.

Describing the success with which Sekoto’s early work was met, Esmé Berman explains how “none of the tired academic clichés or timid prettiness…were present in the self-taught painter’s work. The fearless colour, the unconventional viewpoint, even the awkward handling of familiar forms were refreshingly original and honest”. ²

Stylistically, this painting is probably most comparable to Woman with a Green Scarf in the Durban Art Gallery collection.³ Painted circa 1940, there is a similar handling of the medium: the same dark outlines that delineate the form of the figure and gently grade into the contours of the surface it depicts while the vivid contrast of the darker foreground with the bold, bright, almost acid yellow background is also similarly handled. It is possible that this may be one of the earliest examples of oil painting by Gerard Sekoto. We see perhaps the earliest indication of stylistic devices that are yet to come to fruition over the full extent of his artistic development. For example, the background hachuring is similar to that in numerous examples of his later work, such as Woman with baby and Woman’s head. (4).

Sekoto’s later, Parisian work has been criticised for becoming stylised, formulaic and repetitive, submitting to the fashionable Parisian conventions of the time and lacking in the conviction and integrity of the early South African examples. Pensive Young Woman embodies all the characteristics, charm and authenticity of the early examples. Though the painting may be criticised for being dark, this is likely a result of the fact that it was produced in a township without lights or electricity. Where the later works lack validity and relevance, choosing rather to depict generic examples of an idealised memory of ‘home’, this painting offers more convincing insights into the oppressive conditions under which black South African artists were producing art. The pensive figure in the dark environment is probably a more honest reflection of what the artist observed around him than any romanticised depiction of colloquial township life could provide.

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¹ Barbara Lindop. (1988) Gerard Sekoto. Johannesburg: Dictum Publishing. Page 21.
² Esmé Berman. (1983) Art and Artists of South Africa. Cape Town and Rotterdam: AA Balkema. Page 417.
³ Beth Houston. (ed.). (2013) Song for Sekoto, exhibition catalogue to accompany an exhibition held at the Wits Art Museum, Johannseburg, 25 April – 2 June 2013. Johannesburg: The Gerard Sekoto Foundation. Illustrated in colour, page 9.

(4) Barbara Lindop. (1988) Op cit. Pages 266-7

Lot 222
Gerard Sekoto (South African 1913-1993)
Pensive Young Woman
signed
oil on canvas
45,5 by 35,5cm

R 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
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Important South African and International Art

Auction in Johannesburg – Monday 30 June 2014

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