Voortrekker Woman and Children by Anton van Wouw
Anton van Wouw is in 1862 in Driebergen, Nederland gebore. Sy werk het uit die negentiende-eeuse Nederlandse kuns, die realisme en dié van die ou meesters ontwikkel. Hy het die Renaissance-kuns bewonder, en veral Michelangelo se werk het ’n blywende indruk op hom gemaak. Van Wouw se werk word geken aan die kalmte, waardigheid en stille krag van sy figure.
Voortrekker Vrou en Kinders is die maquette vir die beeldhouwerk aan die voet van die Voortrekkermonument in Pretoria. Die figuurgroep is 4,1 m hoog en weeg 2,5 ton. Dit is die eerste publieke beeldhouwerk van soliede brons wat deur die Renzo Vignali-gietery in Suid-Afrika gegiet is. Die opdragwerk dien as ’n huldeblyk aan die belangrike rol en deursettingsvermoë van die Voortrekkervroue tydens die Groot Trek (1835–1846). Isabel Snyman het as die vrou gemodelleer, met Betty Wolk en Joseph Goldstein as die kinders. Dit was Van Wouw se laaste opdragwerk voor sy afsterwe in 1945.
Van Wouw, wat as die vader van Suid-Afrikaanse beeldhouwerk beskou word, se bekende werke is onder andere op die Krugermonument op Kerkplein in Pretoria en die Nasionale Vrouemonument in Bloemfontein.
Anton van Wouw was born in Driebergen in the Netherlands in 1862. His work developed from the nineteenth-century Dutch realism and the old masters. He was greatly influenced by Renaissance art, and the work of Michelangelo left a lasting impression on him. His figures are characterised by their expression of calm, dignity and a quiet strength.
Voortrekker Woman and Children is the maquette for die sculpture at the foot of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria. The sculpture group measures 4,1 m in height and weighs 2,5 tons. It was the first solid bronze public sculpture to be cast in South Africa by the Renzo Vignali Foundry. The commission was a tribute to the important role and perseverance of the Voortrekker women during the Great Trek (1835–1846). The woman who modelled for the sculpture was Isabel Snyman, and the children were Betty Wolk and Joseph Goldstein. This was Van Wouw’s last commission before his passing in 1945.
Van Wouw is considered the father of sculpture in South Africa. Some of his best-known sculptures include the Kruger Monument in Church Square in Pretoria, and the National Women’s Monument in Bloemfontein.
Bron / Source: Ernst, J. 2006. Anton van Wouw. Vanderbijlpark: Corals Publishers.
