Anton van Wouw’s sculptures on buildings in Pretoria

Abstract

It is not widely known that South Africa’s most important pioneer sculptor, Anton van Wouw (1862-1945), received his initial training as an architectural sculptor. At an early stage in his career he worked for a concrete casting factory in Delft, where he learnt the art of concrete-modelling and casting, but the turning point in his early career was his friendship with the Belgian architect, Vieillevoye, from whom he learnt to know and appreciate the different styles of architecture. Van Wouw’s father, who was working in South Africa, wanted Anton to become involved in the booming building trade of the time in the Transvaal Republic. Anton came to Pretoria on 1 January 1890 and soon attracted the attention of Pretoria’s pioneer master-builder, John J. Kirkness, who at that time was building the Raadsaal on Church Square and needed an architectural sculptor to create the old Republican coat of arms for the pediment over the entrance to his building. This was Van Wouw’s first important architectural commission in Pretoria. In the years to come, after the Raadsaal commission, he was to create architectural sculpture for at least eight prominent buildings in the capital city. They include the Old National Bank and Mint (1893), the Old Standard Bank building (1894), the Reserved Investments Building (1904), and the Main Post Office building (1909), all on Church Square, the Union Buildings (1910) on Meintjeskop, the old Technical College building (1928) in Church Street and the Abattoir building in Schoeman Street.

Dit is nie alombekend dat Suid-Afrika se belangrikste pionierbeeldhouer, Anton van Wouw (1862- 1945), aanvanklik as argitektoniese beeldhouer opgelei is nie. Op ’n vroeë stadium in sy loopbaan het hy vir ’n fabriek in Delft, wat beton gietwerk gedoen het, gewerk en daar het hy die kuns van betonmodellering en -gietery aangeleer, maar die draaipunt in sy vroeë loopbaan was sy vriendskap met die Belgiese argitek, Vieillevoye, by wie hy geleer het om die verskillende argitektuurstyle te ken en te waardeer. Van Wouw se vader, wat toe in Suid-Afrika gewerk het, wou hê dat Anton betrokke moes raak by die bloeiende boubedryf van die tyd in die Transvaalse Republiek. Anton het op 1 Januarie 1890 na Pretoria gekom en gou die aandag getrek van Pretoria se pioniermeesterbouer, John J. Kirkness, wat op daardie stadium besig was met die bouwerk aan die Raadsaal op Kerkplein en ’n argitektoniese beeldhouer nodig gehad het om die ou Republikeinse staatswapen vir die pediment oor die ingang na die gebou te maak. Dit was Van Wouw se eerste belangrike argitektoniese opdrag in Pretoria. In die jare na die Raadsaalopdrag het Van Wouw argitektoniese beeldhouwerk vir minstens agt prominente geboue in die hoofstad geskep. Dit sluit in die Ou Nasionale Bank- en Muntgebou (1893), die Ou Standard Bankgebou (1894), die Reserved Investment-gebou (1904) en die Hoof Poskantoorgebou (1909), almal op Kerkplein, die Uniegebou (1910) op Meintjeskop, die ou Tegniese Kollegegebou (1928) in Kerkstraat en die ou Slagpale in Schoemanstraat.