Ulrich Konrad Heinrich SCHWANECKE (1932 – 2007)
African Bush
date unknown
watercolour on paper
size unknown
Blouberg, N Transvaal
1989
watercolour on paper
65 x 135 cm
Landscape
date unknown
silkscreen
edition 62/75
57.5 x 46 cm
Out of the Bush
1989
watercolour on paper
size unknown
BIOGRAPHY
Ulrich Schwanecke was born in Halberstadt, Germany. He crossed the border to West Germany in 1951 and, the following year, immigrated to South Africa as a mining recruit.
He took evening classes with Cecil Skotnes, Jan Buys, George Boys and Bill Ainslie at the Witwatersrand Technical College (1961 – 1962) and studied Fine Art through the University of South Africa (1965 – 1969), obtaining a BA degree.
During his annual leave, he travelled extensively on foot and on his motorcycle, visiting Central & West Africa in 1960. In 1962, he visited Namibia with Jan Buys and began to paint Namibian landscapes.
From 1977 – 1979, he served as the chairperson of the Watercolour Society of South Africa
Schwanecke worked across multiple panels for his panoramic views. The image was spread over several sheets into diptychs, triptychs—sometimes as many as seven panels.
In 1981, he retired from the research section of the Department of Mines to become a full-time artist. He participated in many group exhibitions in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany.