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Lot 37

Jean Max Friedrich Welz
(South African, 1900-1975)
Pregnant nude within a Joe Wolpe frame

23 March 2011, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

£20,000 - £30,000

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Jean Max Friedrich Welz (South African, 1900-1975)

Pregnant nude
signed and dated 'Jean Welz 45' (upper left); bears Pieter Wenning Gallery label (verso)
oil on board
37.5 x 27.5cm (14 3/4 x 10 13/16in).
within a Joe Wolpe frame

Footnotes

EXHIBITED:
Johannesburg, Pieter Wenning Gallery, Jean Welz Memorial, 1977

"That change in womanhood inspired Welz speaks for itself. Before the umbilical cord is cut at birth, the woman is aware of the change that takes place within her, every day for nine months. Physically, mentally and spiritually she is involved with the growing of another individual inside her. Pregnancy...is one of the most important transformations which takes place in the woman." (Miles, 1997, p.91)

Comparable works include a charcoal sketch, Pregnant woman, 1957 (in the collection of the South African National Gallery, Cape Town) and the oil painting Pregnant woman, 1958 (both illustrated in Miles, 1997, pp.114-5):

"Welz's pregnant nudes are probably the first in the history of South African painting. This regal woman occupies her space like a goddess. The full folds of the drapery out of which her torso rises emphasise her commanding attitude. Her elegant bearing is like that of someone who, at any moment, could give an audience to her subjects." (Ibid, p.92)

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
E. Miles, The World of Jean Welz, (Cape Town, 1997)

Additional information