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Art reception as nationalist meaning-making

Pierneef and the discursive construction of an “Ethnoscape” in the Afrikaner press (1912–1938)

ORCiD logo with link | North-West University
Published online: 21 September 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.26263.bot
Abstract
This research examines the reception of J. H. Pierneef’s art in Afrikaner press articles between 1912 and 1938 to shed light on the interpretation of his depictions of the South African landscape as social and political symbols of identity and entitlement amid emergent Afrikaner nationalism. The research investigates the historical intersections between art and nationalism and the nature of the early twentieth-century Afrikaner press in relation to Afrikaner nationalism, before employing the Discourse Historical Approach to analyse the discursive construction of Pierneef’s landscapes as what Anthony Smith terms “ethnoscapes”, i.e. poetic and “authentic” renditions of the landscape serving as a unifying symbol of ethnic identity and a naturalisation of belonging and ownership. The research maps recurrent themes in the corpus of press articles and identifies underlying topoi through which the poeticised landscape is rendered an expression of national identity and ownership.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction: Afrikaner nationalism, Pierneef and landscape
  • 2.Landscape art and nationalism
  • 3.The Afrikaner press
  • 4.Theory and methodology: DHA
  • 5.Analysis
    • 5.1The characteristics of Afrikaner art
    • 5.2Pierneef’s art as representative of the African landscape and Pierneef as a lover of the African landscape
    • 5.3Landscape as the embodiment of national character
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
References (55)
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