Otto Landsberg 1803-1905: 19th Century South African Artist By De Villiers, Simon. A.

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This is a fascinating study of a multi-faceted and gifted man. Born in Germany in 1803, he immigrated with his parents and brothers to South Africa in 1818 and died in the Cape in 1905. In his lifetime of more than a century he was simultaneously artist, art teacher, musician and successful snuff merchant. As late as 1952 an art historian wrote that none of Otto Landsberg's paintings had been traced and, had it not been for che generous bequest by his grandson Auguste d'Astre of more than 70 of his grandfather's paintings to the Potchefstroom Museum in 1956, Otto Landsberg's chievements as an artist might well have been forgotten. This is an attempt to put his art back into the perspective which it clearly merits. His canvases depicting early South African life, scenery and personalities are of particular interest to the Africana collector and to those interested in South African art.