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The use in pictorial art of visual reference to prototypes and conventions in encoding reality forms the crux of the theoretical research. The theoretical component complements the practical research, which focuses on the interplay between perceptions of 'reality' and visual conventions in landscape art. The existence of diverse realities, based on individual ideological and sociocultural perspectives, is acknowledged. In encoding these realities, artists may draw on a reservoir of stylistic, formal and conceptual prototypes. Visual reference constitutes an allegorical procedure because the artist refers to an antecedent text in the representation of a particular 'reality'. Pictorial signs also rely on conventions to convey meaning. Both the perception and the artistic recreation of different realities may thus be regarded as recycling processes. In a world saturated with visual information, reference to prototypes is a powerful procedure which assists contemporary pictorial artists in the creation of meaningful images of current realities. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / M.A. (Fine Arts)

The use in pictorial art of visual reference to prototypes and conventions in encoding reality forms the crux of the theoretical research. The theoretical component complements the practical research, which focuses on the interplay between perceptions of 'reality' and visual conventions in landscape art. The existence of diverse realities, based on individual ideological and sociocultural perspectives, is acknowledged. In encoding these realities, artists may draw on a reservoir of stylistic, formal and conceptual prototypes. Visual reference constitutes an allegorical procedure because the artist refers to an antecedent text in the representation of a particular 'reality'. Pictorial signs also rely on conventions to convey meaning. Both the perception and the artistic recreation of different realities may thus be regarded as recycling processes. In a world saturated with visual information, reference to prototypes is a powerful procedure which assists contemporary pictorial artists in the creation of meaningful images of current realities. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Fine Arts)

This dissertation presents an investigation into three works by the South African artist Pauline Gutter (b. 1980) that were originally shown in her exhibition Opslag (2008) [this title is almost impossible to translate; it can refer to the sound of a gun, or it can mean to butcher something; it has an association of suddenness]. The works that were selected for scrutiny in this dissertation are Uit die blou van onse hemel [translated as From our blue skies; or Ringing out of our blue heaven – the first words of the erstwhile South African anthem] (2004), Into the landscape I (2007), and Landskap naby Zastron [Landscape close by Zastron] (2006). The choice of works was based on the particular mode of and imaginative re-presentation of the landscape that can be discerned in each of these works – different, yet conceptually quite similar. I argue that Gutter‟s landscape works in the exhibition Opslag (as representative of the thematic concerns of the show as a whole) are indicative of an imaginative re-presentation of a liminal experience (which is informed to a large degree by the artist‟s acute awareness of the threat posed by cruel and rampant attacks on the farming community). This liminal experience, as embodied in the artworks, is in its turn a reflection of the liminal existence as lived and interpreted by the artist‟s perception of her environment and community – speficially, the Boer farming community of South Africa, and even more specificially, in the Free State Province. Those aspects of a liminal experience that can be gleaned from a reading of the selected works Uit die blou van onse hemel, Into the landscape, and Landskap naby Zastron, are powerlessness, instability, the transitory shift of status, disorientation, isolation, marginalisation, and uncertainty. I argue, furthermore, that the imaginative re-presentation of the liminal experience is achieved by means of certain strategies and approaches towards landscape painting that are associated with the sublime. Where the sublime, in the context of the re-presentation of the landscape is often associated with a sense of being overwhelmed, even with awe, I demonstrate that Gutter achieves what Coetzee (1988:49) refers to as a singularly distinct understanding of the sublime with reference to the unique character of the South African landscape. In this sense, specific themes associated with the sublime (portraying things like problems, the sudden and the unexpected, darkness [that connotes uncertainty], danger, fearsomeness, and emptiness [that relates to isolation]) can be related with elements of the liminal. By identifying the themes of sublime representation, the reading of the works demonstrate firstly Gutter‟s unique and distinct application of sublime landscape painting. Secondly, it emerges that the portrayal of the liminal is achieved by means of these strategies towards landscape painting, and thirdly, that the imaginative re-presentation of the liminal is suggestive of a particular dimension of the existence of the contemporary Boer/farming community. Gutter‟s reflection of and on the landscape demonstrate a particularly poignant projection of a theme onto the landscape, and seems to suggest that while the liminal experience is potentially a place of growth and renewal, it can also induce a sense of paralysis as a result of the overwhelming uncertainty experienced by the particular community. / MA (History of Art), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation presents an investigation into three works by the South African artist Pauline Gutter (b. 1980) that were originally shown in her exhibition Opslag (2008) [this title is almost impossible to translate; it can refer to the sound of a gun, or it can mean to butcher something; it has an association of suddenness]. The works that were selected for scrutiny in this dissertation are Uit die blou van onse hemel [translated as From our blue skies; or Ringing out of our blue heaven – the first words of the erstwhile South African anthem] (2004), Into the landscape I (2007), and Landskap naby Zastron [Landscape close by Zastron] (2006). The choice of works was based on the particular mode of and imaginative re-presentation of the landscape that can be discerned in each of these works – different, yet conceptually quite similar. I argue that Gutter‟s landscape works in the exhibition Opslag (as representative of the thematic concerns of the show as a whole) are indicative of an imaginative re-presentation of a liminal experience (which is informed to a large degree by the artist‟s acute awareness of the threat posed by cruel and rampant attacks on the farming community). This liminal experience, as embodied in the artworks, is in its turn a reflection of the liminal existence as lived and interpreted by the artist‟s perception of her environment and community – speficially, the Boer farming community of South Africa, and even more specificially, in the Free State Province. Those aspects of a liminal experience that can be gleaned from a reading of the selected works Uit die blou van onse hemel, Into the landscape, and Landskap naby Zastron, are powerlessness, instability, the transitory shift of status, disorientation, isolation, marginalisation, and uncertainty. I argue, furthermore, that the imaginative re-presentation of the liminal experience is achieved by means of certain strategies and approaches towards landscape painting that are associated with the sublime. Where the sublime, in the context of the re-presentation of the landscape is often associated with a sense of being overwhelmed, even with awe, I demonstrate that Gutter achieves what Coetzee (1988:49) refers to as a singularly distinct understanding of the sublime with reference to the unique character of the South African landscape. In this sense, specific themes associated with the sublime (portraying things like problems, the sudden and the unexpected, darkness [that connotes uncertainty], danger, fearsomeness, and emptiness [that relates to isolation]) can be related with elements of the liminal. By identifying the themes of sublime representation, the reading of the works demonstrate firstly Gutter‟s unique and distinct application of sublime landscape painting. Secondly, it emerges that the portrayal of the liminal is achieved by means of these strategies towards landscape painting, and thirdly, that the imaginative re-presentation of the liminal is suggestive of a particular dimension of the existence of the contemporary Boer/farming community. Gutter‟s reflection of and on the landscape demonstrate a particularly poignant projection of a theme onto the landscape, and seems to suggest that while the liminal experience is potentially a place of growth and renewal, it can also induce a sense of paralysis as a result of the overwhelming uncertainty experienced by the particular community. / MA (History of Art), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

This dissertation investigates the question of transcendence and its relevance to my picture-making . process. The term 'transcendence' refers to any experience which surpasses the finite. In relation to the art-making process it refers to an opening up of the frame. Transcendence is not regarded as a fixed and unalterable state but as such that it encompasses paradox. The fragmentary nature of experience and" knowledge provides the point of departure for this investigation. The possibility of transcendence is partly explored through the concept of symbolic orders. I am using the term 'symbolic orders' to refer to any frameworks which shape human experience in general and the creative process specifically. Upon exploring the concept of transcendence as concerns the work of a number of artists and insofar as it has informed my own pictures it appears that there is a creative system pertaining to the artwork which is transcendent. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / M.A. (Fine Arts)

This dissertation investigates the question of transcendence and its relevance to my picture-making . process. The term 'transcendence' refers to any experience which surpasses the finite. In relation to the art-making process it refers to an opening up of the frame. Transcendence is not regarded as a fixed and unalterable state but as such that it encompasses paradox. The fragmentary nature of experience and" knowledge provides the point of departure for this investigation. The possibility of transcendence is partly explored through the concept of symbolic orders. I am using the term 'symbolic orders' to refer to any frameworks which shape human experience in general and the creative process specifically. Upon exploring the concept of transcendence as concerns the work of a number of artists and insofar as it has informed my own pictures it appears that there is a creative system pertaining to the artwork which is transcendent. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / M.A. (Fine Arts)

La Provence n’est pas une destination traditionnellement associée avec la peinture allemande. Pourtant, cette région attire les peintres déjà au siècle des Lumières. Les vestiges romains et le souvenir de Pétrarque en font une étape du Grand Tour ainsi que du Kavalierstour. Les artistes allemands, si nombreux à aller en Italie, commencent aussi à remarquer le sud de la France. Les raisons qui les poussent à entreprendre ce voyage sont variées : pour les peintres au XVIIIe siècle, comme Jakob Philipp Hackert, il s’agit d’une escale en route vers l’Italie qui donne déjà un avant-goût de la péninsule. Johann Georg von Dillis et Ludwig Richter se rendent en Provence au début du XIXe siècle dans le cadre d’un voyage princier. Puis, au milieu du siècle, Johann Wilhelm Schirmer choisit consciemment de parcourir le sud de la France et découvre alors une nature différente de celle de l’Italie. Cette étude a pour but d’établir un corpus d’œuvre, permettant à la fois de documenter la présence d’artistes allemands en Provence, mais aussi de dégager les motivations derrière le voyage, et de montrer comment leur perception de la nature provençale évolue du XVIIIe au XIXe siècle. Ce travail propose une analyse de la place de cette région dans l’histoire artistique, culturelle et littéraire et examine les sources littéraires et visuelles dont les artistes allemands avaient pu avoir connaissance. Les différents cas d’artistes étudiés montrent l’évolution du regard artistique allemand sur la Provence et illustrent la difficulté de faire entrer ce territoire dans les canons de l’époque ce qui s’exprime particulièrement dans la peinture allemande. / Provence is not a destination traditionally associated with German painting. Yet, this region has attracted painters from the eighteenth century onwards. Roman remains and the memory of Petrarch make it a stop on the Grand Tour and on the Kavalierstour. German artists, who were going to Italy in large numbers, paid increasing attention to the South of France by the end of the eighteenth century. The reasons that motivated them to undertake such a voyage were varied: for painters such as Jakob Philip Hackert, it is a station on the way to Italy that gives them a foretaste of the peninsula. Johann Georg von Dillis and Ludwig Richter go to the South of France at the beginning of the nineteenth century as part of princely travels. Then, in the middle of the century, Johann Wilhelm Schirmer makes the conscious decision of touring Provence in search of natural scenery different from Italy’s. The present study aims to establish a body of work documenting the presence of German artists in the South of France, and also to identify what motivated the journey, in order to demonstrate how their perception of Provence evolved from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century. The aim is to analyze the place of this region in artistic, cultural and literary history, and to identify the visual and literary sources that German artists could rely on during their voyage. The different case studies serve to demonstrate the evolution of the Germanic artistic gaze on Provence, and to illustrate the difficult entry of this territory into the canons of the period, which is particularly notable in the context of German painting.

(in English) This thesis called Grave, Tombstone, Graveyard. The Range of Motifs of the Czech Painting of the 19th Century is based on the analysis of paintings, drawings and graphics made by Czech authors throughout the 19th century. Artists worked with funeral motifs in different ways and these will be presented in different case studies. Some painters were fascinated by these subjects and they turned their attention to them systematically and repeatedly throughout their career. Other artists worked with funeral motifs rarely, although significantly. Artists integrated motifs of graves, monuments and cemeteries to their pieces of art for different purposes; this was connected with the interest of Romanticism in aesthetic anomalies and mystery, with their personal experience and feelings. Artists were also interested in genre scenes that were situated in cemeteries. Funeral motifs can be found in illustrated journals as well. Their aim was to document the specific place and as to symbolically express the finality of the life. The pieces of art will be presented in the context of the burial rites and literature of the 19th century. This phenomenon was also reflected by foreign artists, some of them will be also mentioned in the thesis as an analogy to the Czech works.