Archived

Positivity Aplenty in Preller Still Life

9 Jun 2014

Preller’s Seychelles sojourn ended in February 1949 and the body of work he produced there was exhibited at the Gainsborough Gallery in August that year. The exhibition catalogue was divided into two sections with the works produced while in the Seychelles identified under the heading Mahé, Seychelles Islands – Oct 1948 to Feb 1949. Amongst the 29 works of the Seychellois section there were twelve still life paintings. The exhibition was so popular that the Gainsborough Gallery extended the closing date by an extra week to accommodate the unprecedented visitor numbers. The Rand Daily Mail’s art critic, Errol Wilmot, wrote in an article published on 3 August 1949, the day after the show opened: “I have never felt more certain of the outstanding importance of an exhibition by a South African artist…” and, in a separate article, referred to the “highly exciting release of energy initiated by [Preller’s] visit to the Seychelles.” ²

The still life composition of the present lot includes various flowers and croton leaves, as well as berries, pomegranate fruit and red pineapples. These are set upon a wooden counter draped with a green cloth, before a wall with a Franco-Seychellois batik in the background. A plethora of bright colours with abundant fruit and vegetation forms the focal point of the composition, providing an apt reflection of the artist’s general sense of positivity and well-being.

The pomegranate fruit has, in almost every religion, symbolised humanity’s most fundamental beliefs and desires: life and death; birth and eternal life; fertility and marriage; abundance and prosperity. It has been held sacred by many of the world’s major religions, revered through the ages for its medicinal properties and features on the coat of arms of several medical associations. ³

While the pineapple was associated with the return of ships from extended voyages and became an emblem of welcome and hospitality that found its way into art and design around the world, it is perhaps more interesting to note the degree of celebrity and curiosity that the pineapple was accorded after its arrival in Europe after Christopher Columbus encountered the fruit on his second voyage to the Caribbean in November 1493. As Renaissance Europe was a society largely bereft of common sweets, where sugar refined from cane was a rare and extremely expensive imported commodity, fresh fruit was occasional and orchard grown varieties were only available for limited periods of time. Consequently, the pineapple became so coveted a commodity that King Charles II of England posed for an official portrait, in an act of symbolic royal privilege, receiving a pineapple as a gift. (4)

Whether or not Preller was specifically aware of the symbolic implications of the fruit he chose to portray in the still life studies of this jubilant time in his life is unclear. What is clear, however, is the psychological positivity in which he found himself, and this was brought to bear on his choice of subjects and their manner of depiction. In a later letter to his sister about this time he tells her: “it has been wonderful Min, and I am very grateful for it. It has taken me so far from all the storms of the last years, and is exactly what I was seeking to mark the break.” (5)

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¹ Esmé Berman and Karel Nel. (2009) Alexis Preller: Africa, the Sun and Shadows. Johannesburg: Shelf Publishing. Page 127.
² Esmé Berman and Karel Nel. (2009) Ibid. Page 134
³ http://einron.hubpages.com/hub/godsfruitpomegranatesymbolism
(4) http://www.levins.com/pineapple.html
(5) Esmé Berman and Karel Nel. (2009) Op cit. Page 129
Lot 201
Alexis Preller (South African 1911-1975)
Seychellois Still Life
signed and dated ’49
oil on canvas laid down on board
49 by 59,5cm

R 2,600,000 – 3,200,000

Exhibited:
The Gainsborough Gallery, Johannesburg, Alexis Preller, 2 to 16 August 1949

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