Irma Stern is a renowned South African artist with magnificent talents. Her newest piece to be on sale is expected to be yet another big success which could reach well over the million pound mark.
Herewith the bio on the painting as per www.swelco.co.za
Irma Stern (South African 1894-1966)
THE ZULU WOMAN
signed and dated 1935 oil on canvas 58 by 48,5cm (1) Painted in 1935, Zulu Woman is a strong and confident portrait painted by Irma Stern dates from her celebrated middle period. Pre-dating her travels to North Africa, Stern turned to the people of South Africa as subjects for her work. As painter, Stern exerted the right to control the interpretation of her model . The Zulu Woman in this painting remains nameless but Stern has left us many clues as to her ethnicity. The long cylindrical hairstyle is typical of the Nongoma or Northern Zululand region. The earplugs are also characteristic for this region. Portraiture as genre remains primarily the painter’s interpretation of the model . In Stern’s case, her role as painter often overrode her subject’s individualised identity. This results in works that are highly expressionistic and personal renderings of ‘native types’ , captured primarily for their decorative qualities and unique sense of identity without adhering to the trueness of the final image versus the sitter themselves. Stern’s use of Expressionism in this work has resulted in an image that resonates with colour and light, both equally vital in their capturing of the sitter. Stern has tackled this work in an atypical manner: while there are strong contrasts between light and dark tones throughout the painting, all are eminently powerful. Stern’s fearless use of colour sees a bold lime green background upon which the Zulu Woman is placed. The warm tones used in her skin are interspersed with this same background colour to highlight areas of her face. Medium tones of carmine red are confidently applied along the length of her nose, echoed again in her headdress and further balanced in the background just above her right shoulder. Cool lines of cobalt blue add definition to her headdress, earplug and hairline. The cool pink tone of her wrap is tonally weighted to the background – this by no means flattens the work. Stern’s brushwork follows the contours of the Zulu Woman’s shoulders thereby creating a dynamic tension between the bold application of paint and the clearly delineated features of the Zulu Woman. Stern’s sure brushwork and application of paint in broad lush strokes ensures that every square inch of this canvas is saturated in paint and colour. The overall result is in an image that is both a powerful, keenly articulated Expressionistic portrait and a true testament to Stern’s prowess as South Africa’s colourist par excellance. PROVENANCE: Sold: Stephan Welz & Co, Johannesburg, 4 November 1996, lot 329
R 16 000 000 - 20 000 000
Previous pieces sold were ‘Bahora Girl’ (2.4 million pounds/26.7 million rands) and Gladioli (R13 368 000).
Irma (1894 – 1966) almost had one hundred exhibitions over her lifetime in South Africa and Europe. It is unfortunate that she as well as so many other artists could never enjoy the riches that her paintings produced in their lifetime.
[Image via Stephan Welz & Co]
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