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CARL (ADOLF) BÜCHNER
Born in 1921, Somerset East, Cape Province
(Deceased 2003)
       
  Portfolio

Studied

Languages at University of Wits before turning to Art.

1940-44
Wits Tech Art School under Eric Byrd and Maurice van Essche (Nat Art Teacher’s Certificiate).

Summary Biography

1944-54
Taught at the Pretoria Art Centre, in close association with Le Roux Smith Le Roux and Walter Battiss, and at various Transvaal schools.

1954
Appointed Art Inspector to Cape Education Department.

1956
Principal, Stellenbosch Art Centre.

1957 – 58
Study-tour of Europe.

1959 – 70
Lecturer, MIchaelis School of Fine Art, Cape Town.

1963
Won 5th Annual ‘Artists of Fame & Promise’ Competition, Jhb.

1964
Study visit to Europe.

1967
Wrote introductory essay for book on Maurice van Essche.

1970 – 82
After 25 years of teaching, retired to devote himself to fulltime painting; travelled abroad; a few one-man exhibitions, several commissions, including landscape and interior compositions for the historic home, ‘Laborie’, Paarl, Cape Province. Sometime art critic for ‘Die Burger’ and ‘Cape Times’. Has served on selection-boards for Venice and Sao Paulo Biennali, various national exhibitions. Executive member SAAA.

1969
Deputy-Trustee, SA National Gallery. His painting, Karoo Village, has been reproduced by AA Balkema, Cape Town.

Exhibitions

1952
Van Riebeeck Tercent Exhibition, Cape Town.

1953

Rhodes Cent Exhibition, Bulawayo.

1954
First one-man exhibition

1956
First Quad of SA Art

1963
Sao Paulo Bien.

1967
Rep Fest Exhibition, Pretoria

1971
Rep Fest Exhibition, Cape Town

1982
Cape Town Trien.

Public Collecitons

SA National Gallery, Cape Town
Pretoria Art Museum;
William Humphreys Art Gallery, Kimberly;
Hester Rupert Art Gallery;
Rebrant Art Foundation;
UNISA;
RAU.

In the course of his career a searching artist often bends in several directions, making classification in terms of well-known stereotypes, an arbitrary and inexact procedure. Throughout all the phases of Carl Büchner’s career thus far, however, he has revealed himself unwaveringly as a romantic humanist. The human figure has provided the most frequently-recurrent motif of his work; but even where it is absent – in still-life and landscape compositions – the imprint of recent use or nostalgia pervades the picture.

Büchner’s early paintings were consistently devoted to human subject matter. His figures were sensitively portrayed: slightly elongated forms, expressionist distortion and romantic colour-usage contributing to the generally poetic effect. He made frequent use of the palette-knife, scrumbling one colour over another to create textural and tonal variation in the flat colour areas which described both space and mass.

In later works Büchner began to model with his brush; the previously flat application of colour was replaced modulated strokes of juicy paint and the suggestion of three-dimensional plasticity was heightened by the elimination of his customary linear accents. He seemed to have been much influenced during his 1957-58 tour of Europe by the contemporary Italian school, particularly Morandi; and, in common with the latter, he gave most of his attention to still-life during the period which followed. Also like Morandi, his still-life groups, though simplified and monumentalised almost to the point of abstraction, were never merely assemblages of abstract forms: the elements remained objects, retaining their identification with humanity and the human purposes they served.

The early Sixties witnessed a phase of landscape painting and included several village scenes in the spirit of Karroo Village. Colour, by now, had lost its early saturation, but an appealing nostalgia persisted in his scenes.

Carl Büchner was associated over many years, first as student, then as colleague, with Maurice van Essche. The two artists shared a natural affinity in their sympathetic view of human subjects and Büchner might have been expected to reflect more of his mentor's influence in his initial style; but he successfully avoided manifest eclecticism. However, at various moments later in his career, the younger painter drew closer in style and subject matter to Van Essche - and in so doing temporarily obscured the individuality of his personal romantic vision. Images of the tragi-comic Harlequin, portrayed so often by both artists, continued to be the best known and most popular aspects of Büchner's work.

Reference: Esmé Berman, Art and Artists of South Africa, An Illustrated biographical dictionary and historical survey of painters, sculptors and graphic artists since 1875; 1983 (75:76)



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Artist: CARL BÜCHNER
Title: Cloaked figure - study of 15th c drapery
Size: 44 x 33 cm
Media: Mixed Media
Price on request
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