Highveld Storm, one of the amazing landscape paintings by Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, sold at Bonhams. Sold for US$ 124,778 (£98,500) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams.

ART AUCTION: Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s remarkable landscape paintings reveal why he is one of South Africa’s art masters whose works are fetching high prices at auctions

BY KAZEEM ADELEKE

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, The Baobab Tree. Sold for US$ 1,046,872 (£826,400) inc. premium

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, The Baobab Tree. Sold for US$ 1,046,872 (£826,400) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams

Landscape Paintings By Jacob Hendrik Pierneef

In the last two decades, some of Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s landscape paintings have been showing up at art auctions, especially at Bonhams Auctions House in London. The auction house has sold several of the artist’s landscape paintings as part of its Africa Now art sale and another auction devoted to South African Art.

One of Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s most expensive paintings sold at auction is Bushveld Scene with Trees and Anthills. It sold for £81,250 (US$ 98,665) inc. premium in 2017 at Bonhams auction house in London.

This article presents some of the amazing landscape paintings by Jacob Hendrik Pierneef sold at Bonhams Auction House. Although we cannot present all of his landscape paintings sold at auction here, we have taken the time to select some of the best examples of his work. Our main objective is to present a few of those exceptional landscape paintings by this outstanding South African artist. First, who is Jacob Hendrik Pierneef?

Who is Jacob Hendrik Pierneef?

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef or Jacobus Hendrik Pierneef was one of the best known South African masters. A landscape artist, Pierneef, as he was fondly called, was celebrated for his amazing landscape paintings. Jacob Hendrik Pierneef’s paintings were inspired by the South African landscape, and his distinctive style is well recognized in the global environment.

Many of Pierneef’s landscape paintings were of the South African Highveld, a major source of inspiration for the artist. Pierneef’s approach to creating his landscape paintings was simple and direct.  First, he breaks his composition into geometric structures. Then, using flat planes, lines, and colors, he creates a harmonious ambiance.

Dramatic light and color are important elements in Pierneef’s landscape paintings.  In some of his landscape paintings, Pierneef explores subtle colors in a way that brings order to nature. Other paintings are, however, characterized by sharps and contrast of light and dark.

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Born  August 13, 1886, in  Pretoria, South Africa,  Pierneef got his early art education at the Staatsmodelschool. At the beginning of the Second Boer War, he returned to the Netherlands with his parents. In the Netherlands,  where he studied at the Rotterdamse Kunstakademie.  His contact with works by the old masters left a lasting impression on him.

When Pierneef returned to Pretoria at the age of 18, he devoted himself to painting. His first public exhibition was with van Wouw and Naude in 1902. His paintings were well received. In 1913, Pierneef held his first solo exhibition to great critical acclaim. His second exhibition was in 1915.

Pierneef taught art at the Heidelberg (South Africa) College of Education and the Pretoria College of Education. His works can be found in private, corporate, and public collections across the globe. Pierneef’s landscape paintings are in major museums around South Africa, including the Africana Museum, Durban Art Gallery, Johannesburg Art Gallery, King George VI Art Gallery, Pierneef Museum, and the Pretoria Art Gallery.

He died on November 14, 1957, in Pretoria.

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, A View in the Stellenbosch Valley, with Simonsberg and the Hottentots Holland Beyond. Sold for US$ 123,194 (£97,250) inc. premium

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, A view in the Stellenbosch Valley, with Simonsberg and the Hottentots Holland Beyond. Sold for US$ 123,194 (£97,250) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Malutis Basutoland. Sold for US$ 55,421 (£43,750) inc. premium.

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Malutis Basutoland. Sold for US$ 55,421 (£43,750) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Lowveld Mica Eastern Transvaal. Sold for US$ 243,222 (£192,000) inc. premium.

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Lowveld Mica Eastern Transvaal. Sold for US$ 243,222 (£192,000) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Cape Farmlands (a pair) 55.9 x 50.8cm (22 x 20in.) each. Sold for US$ 366,417 (£289,250) inc. premium.

Jacob Hendrik Pierneef, Cape Farmlands (a pair) 55.9 x 50.8cm (22 x 20in.) each. Sold for US$ 366,417 (£289,250) inc. premium. Image: Bonhams

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