Notes

The influence of German Expressionism is evident in Maggie Laubser’s delightful Landscape with Cow of 1924. A solitary cow tranquilly grazes in the foreground as the first rays of dawn gently illuminate the land. The lush green and burnt orange landscape, the barely perceptible whitewashed cottages with red roofs nestling in the foothills, and the swathes of magnificent blues and mauve hills beneath the lilac and grey blue early morning sky are captured through Laubser’s bold and masterful use of colour. Between 1913 and 1921 Laubser lived and worked in the Netherlands, England, Scotland, Belgium and Italy before returning to South Africa in 1921. She then went to Berlin in 1922, a trip that was to last until 1924 and that would be her last visit to Europe. Here Laubser began to identify strongly with German Expressionism. When she returned to the family farm Oortmanspost in the Malmesbury district of the Cape, her family was facing a particularly difficult time and it became exceedingly difficult for her to pursue her artistic career, making this work even more remarkable.¹

1. Muller Ballot (2016) Maggie Laubser: A Window on Always Light, Stellenbosch: Sun Press.

Literature

Dalene Marais (1994) Maggie Laubser: Her Paintings, Drawings and Graphics. Johannesburg and Cape Town: Perskor. Illustrated on page 181.