Notes

Sydney Kumalo’s sculptures derive their extraordinary power through what has been described as their “maximum concentration of form” which he achieved by drawing on the great skill of traditional African sculptors in simplifying form and economising detail.ⁱ As one of South Africa’s first established black sculptors, he was drawn to studying the form and iconography of African art. His ability to understand the formal qualities of African art and to imbue his work with the spirit of Africa captured leading gallerist, Egon Guenther’s attention and led to his inclusion in the international exhibition of the Amadlozi group in 1963. It was Kumalo’s suggestion of this name, meaning “the spirit of our forefathers”, that appropriately embodied the art and ideals of his fellow artists Edoardo Villa, Cecil Skotnes, Giuseppe Cattaneo and Cecily Sash.

Man and Bull displays the strong symmetry, proportions and hieratic qualities found in both African art and in Medieval relief sculptures that adorned churches. With features, simplified into geometric forms, the head resembles a West African mask while the conical beard echoes the symbolic beards of Egyptian pharaonic art. The extended navel at the figure’s centre emphasises familial intimacy and attachment while the exaggerated genitalia represent power, fertility and the cycles of life. The surfaces are enlivened with sgrafitto hatchings that amplify the verdigris patina and lend texture and character to the whole.

ⁱ Lola Watter, ‘Sydney Kumalo’ in Heine Toerien and Georges Duby (eds), Our Art 3, Foundation for Education, Science and Technology, undated, page 67.

Provenance

The Egon Guenther Gallery, Johannesburg.