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• Auction House:
  W T Macalister
• Sale Name:
  40 Years of Leo Bensemann
• Sale Date:
  28 Mar 2012 ~ 6:30pm (NZDT)
• Lot #:
  15
• Lot Description:
  Leo Bensemann
  (1912-1986)
  This important painting, the last of Bensemann's many self-portraits in oil, is neither signed nor dated and somewhat surprisingly was never exhibited
  Oil On board
  613 x 623mm
• References:
  LB to Dave Cookson, 14 August 1970, quoted in Simpson, Fantastica, p. 137-38
• Notes:
  This important painting, the last of Bensemann's many self-portraits in oil, is neither signed nor dated and somewhat surprisingly was never exhibited. From his appearance the painting can probably be dated to the mid-seventies when Bensemann was in his sixties (he was 63 in 1975). Perhaps the most striking feature of the painting is his placement of the figure within the Golden Bay landscape which Bensemann had been painting regularly since 1965. The epicentre of his painting activities in the region was Ligar Bay where the Bensemann family regularly holidayed. Ligar Bay is a cove of golden sand on the south-eastern shoreline of Golden Bay about 12kms north-east of Takaka, and a couple of kms beyond Tarakohe, formerly the site of a large cement works. On the bluff between Tarakohe and Ligar Bay is the tall white monument to Abel Tasman, who famously visited these shores in 1642. Just north of Ligar Bay is Tata Beach, the strip of golden sand visible in the painting, with the Tata Islands off the point that leads to Wainui Bay and beyond that to the Abel Tasman National Park. By posing himself in front of this landscape Bensemann intends to declare his love for it and his identity with it, a connection reinforced by childhood memories and adult preference. To quote just one statement in confirmation of this point, Bensemann wrote to a friend from Germany in 1970: 'Somebody said Salzburg and the surrounding countryside is one of the most beautiful in the world and it wouldn't be far wrong if they never hear of Golden Bay'. There is a jewel-like intensity of colour in the blue seas, green hills, golden sand and white clouds, the last named rhyming with the white shirt collar which is set off by the dense black of the jersey he is wearing; the same black and white combination is also present in his greying hair. The noble head is shown in profile, the lines of brow and nose echoing those in the profiles of the hillsides, while the curve of the back of the head sweetly echoes that of the sandy beach. In his beautifully rendered left hand Bensemann carries a reddish-coloured branch, stripped bare of leaves. This visually striking detail lends itself to a variety of interpretations. It could, for instance, be seen as a kind of surrogate paint brush, thus establishing the picture as a statement of vocation. Different viewers will no doubt have their own theories as to what this detail signifies; however it is read it undoubtedly adds that necessary touch of magic or mystery, to borrow a phrase of Allen Curnow's, which makes this self-portrait so compelling. The painting was included in Leo Bensemann: A Fantastic Art Venture at Christchurch Art Gallery, February 2011.
• Estimate:
  NZ$30,000 - 35,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

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• Category:
  Art

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.