Notes

After the death of his wife in Cape Town in early 1919, Wenning made a restorative summer trip to Nelspruit, staying in a rondawel at the Lowveld Emporium, befriending its owners, Julius Schneider and Harry Mervis, and painting the surrounding veld, its villages and its people. Immediately thereafter, and with his health failing, he accompanied his friend Wytze van Wyk de Vries, a trader and chicory works owner, to Potgietersrust, Nylstroom and Pietersrust, painting and sketching along the way. As Wenning was particularly taken by the peaceful landscapes around Potgietersrust, van Wyk de Vries arranged lodgings for the artist with the local chemist. The three months there were certainly eventful, defined by rigorous painting, a cheerful mood, and even a marriage proposal (that was accepted, but ultimately called off). Perhaps as thanks for this uplifting interlude, Wenning gifted a gorgeous still life painting—this very lot—to his friend van Wyk de Vries.

The present lot is a beautiful composition. While the rounded table spills beyond the frame, a lusciously curved vase is centred in the work. The background is painterly and textured, imbuing warmth and movement into the otherwise ‘still life’. A mix of warm (yellow, orange, and red) and cool (green, blue, and purple) colours, along with a variety of flowers, creates a joyful arrangement.

Provenance

A gift from the artist to Mr Wytze van Wyk de Vries and thence by descent.