Jan Ernst Abraham VOLSCHENK (1853 – 1936)
Evening ‘Langebergen’ Riversdale
1925
oil on canvas
20 x 35 cm
Piles Of Rocks And Boulders: Mitchells Pass Near Ceres
1935
oil on canvas
41 x 36 cm
BIOGRAPHY
Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk was a South African painter, noted for his majestic landscapes of the Langeberg Range in the Western Cape.
Born of Dutch parents on the farm Melkhoutskraal in Riversdale, Volschenk started painting when still a child and was largely self-taught.
James Reitz, the Government Land Surveyor, saw some of his drawings and suggested that his brother Gysbert, a Riversdale lawyer, take an interest. Reitz eventually joined the firm of Reitz & Versfeld as a bookkeeper. In 1893, he accompanied the Reitz family to Europe and was inspired by the art galleries they visited.
In 1894, he joined the South African Drawing Club and exhibited with them.
At 51 years of age, he gave up his office job and devoted all of his time to painting. His home district around Riversdale and the Langeberg, was his inspiration and subject matter, and he became a master of the subtle colours and tones of the Karoo mountains.
Volschenk’s keen powers of observation spilled over into natural history. He amassed a collection of more than 4 000 beetle specimens.
His work is held several public art collections: the Iziko South African National Gallery, Cape Town; the Johannesburg Art Gallery; the Pretoria Art Museum; the Durban Art Gallery; the William Humphreys Gallery, Kimberley; the AC White Gallery, Bloemfontein; the Albany Museum, Makhanda; and the SABC Art Collection.