Ernest Zobole
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Ernest Zobole (25 April 1927 – 27 November 1999) was a
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
painter and art teacher. Zobole's paintings, originally oil on canvas, later switching to oil on board, reflected the industrial setting of the
Rhondda Valleys Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ...
. A member of the ''Rhondda Group'', a circle of artists from the area, Zobole is seen as one of Wales' "most important artists...one of the visionary artists of Wales".


Early history

Zobole was born in the village of
Ystrad Ystrad (also known as Ystrad Rhondda or Ystrad-Rhondda) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the Rhondda Fawr valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Description As a community and ward Ystrad contains the neighbouring district of Gelli ...
,
Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...
, in 1927, to Italian immigrants who had moved to Wales in 1910. He was educated at Porth Grammar School, before spending five years training at the
Cardiff College of Art Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) is one of the five schools that comprise Cardiff Metropolitan University. It originated as the Cardiff School of Art in 1865. History Cardiff School of Art & Design opened in 1865 as the Cardiff School of S ...
. His time at Cardiff College was notable for the daily commute from the Valleys to
Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
, as it was used as an opportunity for Zobole and five fellow students to discuss and critique their art work. Although the six artists never set up a school or published a manifesto, they became known as the ''Rhondda Group'' and were an important movement in South Wales art. After leaving Cardiff College, he undertook his service for the British Army, being posted to Palestine and Egypt. On his return from military service he returned to the Rhondda and married his childhood sweetheart, Christina Baker. With little opportunities to find work as an artist, Zobole took up an art teaching post in
Llangefni Llangefni (meaning "church on the River Cefni", ) is the county town of Anglesey in Wales and contains the principal offices of the Isle of Anglesey County Council. United Kingdom Census 2011 recorded Llangefni's population as 5,116 people, maki ...
in Anglesey, a position he held from 1953 to 1958. He found this period difficult, he found the flat landscapes dull and uninspiring and described the island as "all wind and chapel". Zobole also felt apart from the community, a mixture of his inability to speak the
Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...
; which was not a factor in the mainly English speaking Rhondda, and a sense of homesickness. He returned to South Wales in 1957, taking up a post at a Church in Wales school in
Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...
, located in the Cynon Valley a neighbouring valley to the Rhondda. Within two years he found employment teaching within the Rhondda, at
Treorchy Treorchy ( cy, Treorci; ) is a town and community (and electoral ward) in Wales. Once a mining town, it retains such characteristics. Situated in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in the Rhondda Fawr valley. Treorchy is also one of the 16 c ...
County Secondary School. Zobole was one of the original members of the campaigning art group, ''
56 Group Wales The 56 Group Wales ( cy, Grŵp 56 Cymru) is an artists' organisation founded in Wales in 1956, with the aim of promoting Welsh Modernist art and artists. The name was originally simply the 56 Group: "Wales" was added in 1967, in response to a fe ...
''.


As an artist

Initially Zobole painted as he had been taught at college, but by 1960 he started to experiment with his own style. He originally painted oil on canvas, but he then switched to oil on board and started to use a monochrome colours.Ernest Zobole 1927-1999
Art in Wales
He began using impasto, mainly applied with a palette knife. His period of work during the mid-1960s are now regarded as the most daring phase of his career. Zobole was influenced during the 1960s by expressionist refugee artists such as
Heinz Koppel Heinz Koppel (29 January 1919, Berlin - 1 December 1980, Cwmerfyn, Wales) was a British artist of German origin, who spent much of his life working in Wales. Life Koppel was born to Jewish parents in Berlin, where he grew up, but after the N ...
, who had a studio in
Dowlais Dowlais () is a village and community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The population of the Community being 4,270 at the 2011 census having excluded Pant. Dowlai ...
. From 1963 to 1984 he became a painting lecturer at Newport Art School. In 1996, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the University of Wales, Swansea. Although Zobole lived and worked in a number of places in Wales, he spent most of his life in
Ystrad Ystrad (also known as Ystrad Rhondda or Ystrad-Rhondda) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the Rhondda Fawr valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Description As a community and ward Ystrad contains the neighbouring district of Gelli ...
, where he died in 1999. Zobole described his ethos to painting as: "Painting is a part of my life...your breathing I suppose...it is part of what you're about...part of your thinking. It sounds a bit lofty to say that this thing called painting is the whole reason for existing, and if I say yes it is, then accept the fact that I have a lofty thought. The imagery for the work is taken from my immediate surroundings - the house, the outside landscape, and the landscape seen through doors and windows. The outside and inside come together in places. The system used in painting parallels one we use naturally, in that when we examine any situation, we look around or turn our heads, or move our eyes, or more likely, do all three. The differing viewpoints we take in help us build some kind of picture. In making use of these differing viewpoints, plan views, side elevations, end elevations and perspectives are used; eye levels vary, scale varies and emphasis varies; there is also time and memory". The National Museum of Wales holds ten pieces of work by Zobole, including ''People and Ystrad Rhondda'' (1961) and ''Some Trees and Snow'' (1978).Zobole, Ernest, Art collections online
museumwales.ac.uk


Bibliography

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zobole, Ernest 20th-century Welsh painters 20th-century British male artists Members of The Welsh Group 1927 births 1999 deaths People from Ystrad Welsh people of Italian descent Modern painters Alumni of Cardiff School of Art and Design Members of the 56 Group Wales 20th-century Welsh educators Welsh male painters 20th-century Welsh male artists