Notes

Modestly scaled and less architectonic than his oils, JH Pierneef's casein paintings are widely regarded as amongst his most lyrical works. The artist is said to have produced upwards of 50 landscape studies using casein, a milk-based binding agent that Pierneef obtained from a Düsseldorf-based supplier.[i] Characterised by their notational brushstrokes and impressionistic use of colour, Pierneef's casein works are a benchmark of his intuition and assuredness as a painter. A fast-drying material casein demands certainty. "It is not likely that it will become a very popular process with artists owing to the extreme difficulty of its manipulation, as after application to the prepared surface the mixed paint sets like a fine and indestructible cement," wrote Ernest Lezard, a Johannesburg art dealer, in an appreciation of Pierneef'.[ii]

[i] Frieda Harmsen, Joey De Jager, ‎ and Katinka Kempff, (1985) Looking at South African art: A guide to the study and appreciation of art, Pretoria: JL van Schaik. Page 47.

[ii] KL De Villiers, (1997), The JH Pierneef collection of the City Council of Pretoria housed in the Pretoria Art Museum, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria. Page 208.

Exhibited

The Everard Read Gallery, Johannesburg, 23 May 1981