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Note : Known for his compassion, admired for his skill and revered for his talent, Cecil Skotnes’ works continue to capture the imagination of viewers and are appreciated both locally and abroad. Unsurprisingly, it was a work by Skotnes which became the first by a South African artist to be reproduced in the Encyclopedia Britannica.1Skotnes is best known for his woodcuts, carved and incised panels and for his skill as a printmaker.2 Of his creative output, his carved panels stand tall as some of his most celebrated works – many of which were commissioned by prominent South African institutions, such as the Iziko South African National Gallery, Barclays Bank, Standard Bank and the Cape Wine Growers Association (KWV).3 Regarded collectively, the three panels on auction (Lot X, Lot X and Lot X) exemplify the profound explorations that Skotnes undertook to imbue his work with a more African sensibility, as opposed to blindly following the artistic tenets of Europe. As a result of this exploration, the artist’s figures underwent aesthetic transformations. When considering Head (Lot X), the panel is incised with forms associated with Skotnes’ earlier panels, wherein ‘prickly’, ‘angular shapes’ and ‘thorn bush-like figures’ were inspired by the organic forms of plant life found in the veld.4 These earlier heads were often disproportionate, with the subtle presence of shoulders and a torso, but a bold outline that encased a collection of intricate markings suggesting eyes and a mouth, causing the viewer to ponder the persona that they render.5 In the case of the two figurative works (Lot X and Lot X), Skotnes’ mastery of medium later gave way to figures depicted through more recognisable, human forms and demonstrated his exceptional ability to capture the ‘softness of flesh in the hard medium of wood.’Ultimately, the elements of Skotnes’ panels provide his work with a unique character that attracts collectors time and again. As a friend of the artist and former Director of the Michaelis School of Fine Art, Neville Dubow was perhaps most apt when he stated that Skotnes’ work may be seen ‘as landscapes of the mind, at a point where the physical and metaphysical intersect. Physically, in material terms, his carved panels are landscapes of a kind, with their own ridges and peaks, valleys and plains.’7
Marc Smith
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