Pierneef-bome / Pierneef trees
Typical of the bushveld scenes and other landscapes of which Pierneef was fond, is the presence of trees. Pierneef’s fascination with trees started at an early age while exploring the bushveld on the outskirts of Pretoria. It was particularly the character of various tree species and how the trunks, branches and leaves contributed to the forms and shapes of the trees that fascinated Pierneef. He spent hours sketching every detail of a specific tree. Included in this oeuvre of Pierneef, are the following:
Acacias: Camel-thorn, Sweet-thorn, Fever-tree and Wild Seringa.
Before Pierneef started creating linocuts he was trained as an etcher. The various species of thorn trees served as subjects for these etchings and later also became dominant subjects in his linocuts and paintings.
Blue-gums: These trees served as subjects for his first lino- and woodcuts on exhibition in 1911.
The willow and red bush-willow: These are specifically portrayed in oil-paintings showing the Pienaar’s River. Also a popular decorative element in his linocuts, to use the ‘weeping’ branches of the willow as a frame. This was one of the tree species Pierneef loved to study during both summer and winter.
Baobabs: The earliest reference to the baobab in Pierneef’s work relates to his visit to Tanzania on the river Tanga, in 1926. Later, baobabs also became characteristic of his bushveld scenes, with their bare branches forming a decorative pattern in winter or during dry seasons. The baobab is more dominant in his oil-paintings, with one praised linocut.
Others: Wild pear, Wild fig, Kiaat, Leadwood, Karee, Marula, Resin and Palm trees.
