Diederick During
Very little has been written on the art of Diederick During, even though he was a frequent exhibitor in the 1950s and 60s and is well-represented in important collections of South African art. His work was also included in an important art anthology, 150 South African Paintings, Past and Present, published in 1989.1 His training under Maurice van Essche (qv.), a Belgian émigré from the Congo who had a profound effect on many younger South African students was profound. Van Essche encouraged his students to paint African subjects in an idiom that was essentially modernist. In During’s work we see him experimenting with both Cubist and Surrealist approaches. He explored these in pastel, as well as oil and tempera, and there are some superb examples of his paintings at the Wits University Art Galleries, the Sanlam Art Gallery and the Oliewenhuis Art Museum in Bloemfontein. Read More…
