Bernard Takawira (1948–1997) was a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

sculptor 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 ...

, the younger brother of John Takawira and older brother of Lazarus Takawira. Takawira was born in the mountainous

Nyanga Nyanga may mean: *Nyanga Province, of Gabon *Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo *Nyanga people, an ethnic group from Congo *Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town *Nyanga District, Zimbabwe *Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe *Nyanga, Western Cape, a township in Sou ...

district, third of six children. Their father was often absent for work, and their mother, Mai, assumed a dominant role. She was well known for her knowledge of

Shona Shona often refers to: * Shona people, a Southern African people ** Shona language, a Bantu language spoken by Shona people today ** Shona languages, a wider group of languages defined in the early 20th century ** Kingdom of Zimbabwe, a Shona stat ...

myths and stories, and would share them with her sons; these tales had a deep influence in both John and Bernard's careers as sculptors. Bernard trained as an

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

advisor to the government after leaving school, but was encouraged by John to try carving stone. John introduced him to Frank McEwen, who was running a

workshop Beginning with the Industrial Revolution era, a workshop may be a room, rooms or building which provides both the area and tools (or machinery) that may be required for the manufacture or repair of manufactured goods. Workshops were the only ...

in Vukutu at the time. Takawira soon began spending all of his free time at the workshop, where he learned much; in 1977 he left his governmental position to begin sculpting full-time. Stylistically, Takawira's sculptures show evidence of a great interior struggle between

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and Shona culture, a battle which affected the artist for much of his life. Many of his works take as their subject abstract themes such as patience, humility, and integrity. Takawira died in 1997.

References

Biographical sketch
1948 births 1998 deaths People from Manicaland Province 20th-century Zimbabwean sculptors {{Zimbabwe-sculptor-stub