Sydney Alex Kumalo (South African, 1935-1988)St Francis of Assisi signed and numbered 'K VII | X' (beneath the figure's tunic)bronze on wooden base 70 x 27.5 x 22.5cm (27 9/16 x 10 13/16 x 8 7/8in). (including base)Footnotes:ProvenanceEgon Guenther Gallery, purchased 3rd November 1966;By descent;A private collection.ExhibitedJohannesburg, Egon Guenther Gallery, An Exhibition of Sculpture and Drawings by Sydney Kumalo, (8 May 1962). (edition i/x).LiteratureGavin Watkins and Charles Skinner, The Sculptures of Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae, A Catalogue Raisonné, (South Africa: Strauss & Co, 2023), SK13, p. 143.H. Toerien & G. Duby, ed. Our Art, vol.3, (Pretoria), p. 66. (illustrated).Elizabeth Rankin, 'Sydney Kumalo', ed. E. Burroughs & K. Nel, Re/discovery and Memory: The works of Kumalo, Legae, Nitegeka & Villa,(Cape Town: ABC Press & Norval Foundation, 2018), p. 131. (different edition of the same work illustrated). S. Sack, The Neglected Tradition: Towards a New History of South African Art (1930-1988), (Johannesburg Art Gallery, 1988), p. 51. (different edition of the same work illustrated), (edition 6/10).Born in 1935 and raised in the old suburb of Johannesburg known as Sophiatown, Sydney Kumalo grew up with and became absorbed into a community that would be destroyed by the apartheid, catalysing a generation of some of South Africa's most passionate, driven, and famous artists. Being Zulu in this community meant that Kumalo grew up surrounded people of different political beliefs and cultures, developing a grounding of cohesive societal understanding that would reflect in his later works of art. Kumalo was only seventeen when he began studying at the Polly Street Art Centre in Johannesburg under the guidance of Cecil Skotnes and Edoardo Villa, before becoming a teacher there himself in 1964. Kumalo would go on to exhibit alongside the two aforementioned artists (also prominent figures in today's market) in collaborative shows. Given his background Kumalo would establish himself as a prominent figure in modern African Art who overcame challenging adversity given his position as a Black creative during apartheid, emphasising his importance. Guenther Gallery cast two terrazzos and the first bronze (edition i/x) of this sculpture for the May 1962 exhibition, An Exhibition of Sculpture and Drawings by Sydney Kumalo. Further casts were created on a basis of supply and demand; the present rendition was cast in November 1966. Evidently a popular cast, Egon Guenther Gallery sold all future editions of St Francis of Assisi from 1966 to 1971. Elizabeth Rankin notes that Carlo Gamberini of the foundry remembered 'how Kumalo used to come to the foundry to oversee the finishing of the bronze casts, and also to work on the waxes of his sculptures, often using a saw blade to introduce surface texture.' This practise can be seen on the present work, with hairline etchings of texture most notable to the head, shoulders, and back of the work. This technique would further animate the figures the artist produced and displayed the artist's continuous passionate development of his works. Figures expressing spiritual emotion is a theme that is consistent within his oeuvre. With regards to his wider body of work, Kumalo's renditions of strong semi-abstracted figures, whether they be animals or humans, are somewhat characteristic of traditional African sculptures. As Jean Kennedy notes on the artist's technique: 'The solidity and central axis of his forms convey strength, the interpretation of which ranges from protest to endurance.' (Jean Kennedy, New Currents, Ancient Rivers; Contemporary African Artists in a Generation of Change, (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992), p. 175.). In this instance, the image of St Francis of Assisi brings to the surface notions of peace which the figure is associated with. Differing from classical descriptive reproductions of the Saint, for instance often portrayed bearing stigmata in Old Master depictions of the Saint, Kumalo portrays the essence of Assisi, focusing on compositional form rather than the imitation of Christ which older western portraits tend to have leaned towards. While most associations of an animal interaction with the Saint are more famously through the legend of Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, doves themselves are symbols of peace and therefore contribute to the humility of the figure. St. Francis is one of Kumalo's best known works. Conceived in 1962, the sculpture depicts the Christian saint renowned for his acts of compassion. It was described by Watter in Our Art 3 contemporary critic thus:'The mask-like head radiates spiritual serenity, yet the neck is rigid with strain. The wide-legged stance asserts confidence but the arms are pathetically thin. This is a representation of a man rent by spiritual conflict, caught in his frail human body. Movement is concentrated at two points: on the saint's left hand that cuddles a dove protectively against his chest, and on the strong thrust of the right arm reaching heavenwards in a gesture that combines blessing with threat. This double significance reinforces the tension caused by the amalgam of Christian content with forms redolent of African ritual. The soft pot-belly is opposed to hard purpose. The ludicrous little legs provide a stylised base for a gesture that challenges the universe. In Sydney Kumalo's St. Francis a man is portrayed who has galvanised himself through the strength of selfless compassion and so overcomes the limitations set by his fallible human body.'Since the creation of this work, Sydney Kumalo represented South Africa at the Venice Biennale in 1966, and in 1967 participated in the Sao Paulo Biennale. Kumalo received a number of awards throughout his career; he was invited to the Artist of Fame and Promise Exhibition in 1960 further winning the award for most promising up and coming artist. In 1967 won a bronze medal from the Transvaal Academy and a travel bursary from the US-SALEP (the United States/ South African Leadership Exchange Programme) enabling him to travel to the US in 1967. It seems appropriate, given the religious motivation behind much of the artist's work such as the present lot, that Kumalo also received commissions from religious institutions, such as a mural in the Catholic Church in Kroonstad that was completed in 1957. Therefore, we see Kumalo's career extending beyond these art circle bounds and into physical and pivotal societal structures.We are grateful to Gavin Watkins for his assistance with the above footnote.BibliographyGavin Watkins and Charles Skinner, The Sculptures of Sydney Kumalo and Ezrom Legae, A Catalogue Raisonné, (South Africa: Strauss & Co, 2023), pp. 142-145.H.Toerien & G.Duby, ed. Our Art, vol.3, (Pretoria), pp. 66-68.Jean Kennedy, New Currents, Ancient Rivers; Contemporary African Artists in a Generation of Change, (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1992), p. 175.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
