Pieter Hugo Naudé, better known as Hugo Naudé, (1869–1941) was a South African painter. Hugo Naudé is one of South Africa’s pioneer artists and is largely regarded as the country’s first professional artist.

Early years

Naudé was born and raised on his family's farm, Aan de Doorns, in Worcester,

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

– an area whose dramatic landscape inspired much of his output throughout his life. Naudé showed great artistic talent from a young age and was encouraged by his family to pursue it.

Biography

In 1889 he travelled to London where he trained at the prestigious

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

, and the following year he continued his studies at the

Academy of Fine Arts Munich The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich (, also known as Munich Academy) is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany. It is located in the Maxvorstadt district of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. In the second half of the 19th centur ...

(AKDB, München). Whilst in Europe, Naudé spent a year in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

where he lived and worked amongst the Barbizon School of painters. Just as the French group inspired the likes of Monet in his explorations of Impressionism, they also inspired Naudé to create his own Cape Impressionist style – one which was adopted by generations of artists who followed him, including Gregoire Boonzaier,

Pierneef Jacobus Hendrik (Henk) Pierneef (usually referred to as Pierneef) (13 August 1886 Pretoria – 4 October 1957 Pretoria), was a South African landscape artist, generally considered to be one of the best of the old South African masters. His distin ...

, and Ruth Prowse. Upon his return to South Africa in 1896, Naudé adapted his European influences and teachings so as to more accurately reflect the abundance and brilliance of his local landscape. Motivated by his great love for nature and landscape, Naudé travelled by caravan on many painting expeditions across

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. Painting en plein air with bold hues of yellow and orange below, and clear blue skies above, Naudé captured the landscapes he encountered with great confidence and a unique freshness never-before-seen in his home country. This artistic movement came to be known as ''Cape Impressionism'', represented by several renowned South African Cape painters who developed a style unique to South Africa.

Career and legacy

Over a century later, Naudé’s works continue to be sought after, and his legacy fondly remembered. In 1939, two years before his death, Naudé was awarded the Medal of Honour for painting by the South African Akademie (

Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns The Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (SAAWK) (literally ''South African Academy for Science and Arts'') is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to promoting science, technology and the arts in Afrikaans, as well as promoting ...

). He has been recognized with two retrospective exhibitions, the first in 1969 at the Pretoria Art Museum, and the second at the

South African National Gallery The Iziko South African National Gallery is the national art gallery of South Africa located in Cape Town. It became part of the Iziko collection of museums – as managed by the Department of Arts and Culture – in 2001. It then became an agenc ...

in Cape Town in 1974.

Art Education

1889-90: Slade School London, under

Alphonse Legros Alphonse Legros (; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist. He moved to London in 1863 and later was naturalized as British. He was important as a teacher in the British etching ...

. 1890-94: Kunst Akademie, Munich, under portraitist

Franz von Lenbach Franz Seraph Lenbach, after 1882, Ritter von Lenbach (13 December 1836 – 6 May 1904), was a German painter known primarily for his portraits of prominent personalities from the nobility, the arts, and industry. Because of his standing in society ...

. 1895: with the Barbizon Group, Fontainebleau. 1913: etching at the

Chelsea Arts Club Chelsea Arts Club is a private members' club at 143 Old Church Street in Chelsea, London with a membership of over 4,000, including artists, sculptors, architects, writers, designers, actors, musicians, photographers, and filmmakers. The club wa ...

, off

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents) is a major street stretching through Chelsea and Fulham, both ...

, London; and further study in Munich.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naude, Pieter Hugo 1860s births 1941 deaths Cape Colony painters South African male painters 19th-century male artists 20th-century South African painters 20th-century South African male artists Cape Colony artists