Citroën ,
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Notes : John Meyer is among the rare South African artists whose reputation is perhaps even greater in international markets than at home. His significance as a technically gifted realist painter is widely recognised from his exhibitions all over the world, and he is in the fairly unique position, at least in the South African market, of being regarded as a modern-day ‘court painter’, commissioned to paint many official subjects and occasion works in for a range of international collectors. His immaculately composed painted scenes evident from the very beginning of his career, can sometimes, precisely because of their photorealist skill, belie the talent and ability with which all his work is imbued.While his painting started out with acutely observed still lifes and subtle landscapes, he has also become known for narrative painting, either in the vignette and cinematic form he has favoured more recently, or in the grand historical stories he has depicted in many well-known canvases.
These two earlier landscapes, at first glance, bear all the hallmarks of the painterly photorealism for which his work is celebrated. However, they also offer an opportunity to enjoy the way in which Meyer goes about his craft – especially if we consider that Citroen is purported, by a close friend of the artist, to be his first commercial work. Both landscapes use the depiction of light almost as a character in the work, so much so that it becomes almost tangible and such a convincing framing for the mood of the scene. The abandoned, rusted wreck of the old Citroën car in that work attracts the eye and offers the narrative focus for a virtuoso landscape. By the same token, Above Lairg offers a classic three-plane composition: a white house in the foreground dominating the mid-plane, and a beautifully realised crepuscular atmosphere pervading the scene, descending from the mountains and sky to form the upper compositional structure of the painting.
James Sey
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