Anton van Wouw (27 December 1862 30 July 1945) was a

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

-born

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n sculptor regarded as the father of South African

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

.Burger, E. ''Die Huiselike Omstandighede van Anton van Wouw''. University of Pretoria, 1941, p. 21

Biography

Van Wouw decided to move to the developing city of

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

at the age of 28 and waited for ten years to receive his first commission. This was from financier

Sammy Marks Samuel Marks (July 11, 1844 – February 18, 1920) was a Russian-born South African industrialist and financier. Life history Born the son of a Jewish tailor in 1844 in Neustadt-Sugind, Russian Empire (now Lithuania), Marks was endowed w ...

to create a monumental statue of

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...

, which stands on Church Square. During his time spent in the wilderness he developed a great admiration for the

Boer Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...

nation. This also influenced his artistic development a great deal. He identified with the struggles and hopes of these people and this commitment was reflected in his work. A great deal of his work, although representational, captures the rugged and emotional essence of his subjects. One of his most notable pieces of work is the figure of a woman used in the Women’s Monument near

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. He collaborated on this with the architect Frans Soff. He was also responsible for the less successful figure of a woman incorporated into the Voortrekker Monument near Pretoria, a powerful bust of General

Christiaan de Wet Christiaan Rudolf de Wet (7 October 1854 – 3 February 1922) was a Boer general, rebel leader and politician. Life Born on the Leeuwkop farm, in the district of Smithfield in the Boer Republic of the Orange Free State, he later resided at ...

and the statue of

Louis Botha Louis Botha ( , ; 27 September 1862 – 27 August 1919) was a South African politician who was the first Prime Minister of South Africa, prime minister of the Union of South Africa, the forerunner of the modern South African state. A Boer war v ...

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

. He also portrayed indigenous peoples and among these smaller sculptures some of his finest work can be found. They are much less formal than his larger work and are appealing in their vivid and lifelike facial expressions.

Works

Woman and Children, completed in 1938. This bronze statue honouring the role the Voortrekker women played in the

Great Trek The Great Trek (, ) was a northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyond the Cape's British colonial adminis ...

was van Wouw's last commission. The sculpture is located at the base of the

Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the ar ...

, stands 4.1 meter tall and weights 2.5 ton. The casting was done by Renzo Vignali in

. Models for the statue were Cato Roorda or Isabel Snyman as the woman, Betty Wolk as the girl and Joseph Goldstein as the boy.

Museum

* Van Wouw Museum located in his final residence.

Gallery

Image:Chuch Square, PTA.jpg, Statue of Paul Kruger, 1899, on Church Square,

File:Hendrik_Hofmeyr.JPG, Statue of Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, 1916, Church Square, Cape Town Image:Mt steyn statue.jpg, Statue of

Martinus Theunis Steyn Martinus (or Marthinus) Theunis Steyn (; 2 October 185728 November 1916) was a South African lawyer, politician, and statesman. He was the sixth and last president of the independent Orange Free State from 1896 to 1902. Early life The Stey ...

, 1928, for the University of the Free State, moved to the Museum of the Boer Republics in 2020 Image:Monument of Sir Henry Timson Lukin.JPG, Major General Sir Henry Timson Lukin, 1930,

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

Image:South Africa-Voortrekker Monument-Woman and Children01.jpg, Woman and Children, 1939,

References

External links