FULL MOON
signed and dated 1960 / Meintjes lower left
oil on board
63.5 x 44cm; 25 x 17 1/4in
90 x 68.5cm; 35 1/2 x 27in (framed)

Property from a Private Collection, Cambridge

Provenance
The DinksFãStan Private Collection

Johannes Meintjes was a prolific painter, broadcaster, historian, diarist, costume and set designer, playwright and author (publishing 35 books).

Growing up on a sheep farm near Moltena, after his father's death in 1928, the family moved to Riversdale. Whilst there, Meintjes became friendly with the elderly JEA Volschenk, who encouraged him to draw and paint at any early age. After the family moved to Cape Town in 1938, the artist met Maggie Laubser, which was the start of a close and long-lasting friendship and inspiration for his work. Meintjes took up formal studies under Florence Zerffi and whilst under her tutelage, he began to experiment with a new Expressionist style of language, to the admonitions of his tutor. From the beginning, Meintjes' characteristically non-conformant canvases were redolent of his childhood - layered with emotional romanticism and the sadness of adolescent longing.

Meintjes' first exhibition at the Gainsborough Gallery in Johannesburg in 1944 brought him immediate public adulation and provided him with the funds to study abroad. In 1945, he enrolled at the Central School of Art in London, and later, back in Cape Town, he worked as an artist, broadcaster and writer. He lectured at the Worcester School of Drama and at the Cape Technical College.

He participated in solo and group exhibitions throughout his life, both in South Africa and internationally, and his works are present in numerous collections, both private and public, such as the Pretoria Art Museum, AC White Gallery, Bloemfontein, Rembrandt Art Foundation and Schlesinger Foundation.