Etched against the landscape of vineyards and mountains, the Wine Bearer, standing four metres tall and weighing 560 kilograms, is a popular discussion point and much photographed object of art.
Inspired by the admiration with which this sculpture is met, a new Sculpture Walk – a guided tour along all the female sculptures on the estate – has been introduced. This new experience reaffirms La Motte’s appreciation of the arts and celebrates the important role played by women in society.
Along the Walk, 9 sculptures are visited – from the welcoming Wine Bearer to the sculptures displayed in the La Motte Museum, Wine Tasting Room, Rupert Vinoteque, Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant and the most recent addition, The Kiss in the courtyard.
One of the highlights along the Sculpture Walk is to pause in the J.H. Pierneef Hall of the La Motte Museum, admiring the maquette, Voortrekker vrouw en kinders (Voortrekker woman and children), dated 1938, by South African master Anton van Wouw (1862 – 1945). Acclaimed for his monumental pieces created as public commissions for South African monuments such as the National Women’s Memorial, Bloemfontein and the Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, this Dutch-born sculptor introduced bronze sculpting to the South African arts. With no foundry available in South Africa before 1931, Van Wouw had his first sculptures cast in Italy and the Netherlands. The popular and familiar subjectivity of his work to the South African public made him a well-known art figure and consultant to the establishment of the first bronze foundry of South Africa, in 1931.
The sculptors of the other eight female figures on La Motte, Theo and Toby Megaw – father and son – draw their inspiration from beauty and how it is expressed in society through form, stature and gestures, encouraging an individual experience and interpretation as well as dialogue between sculpture and viewer.
Sculptures on the Sculpture Walk
- Wine bearer by Toby Megaw – Welcoming guests to La Motte, she stands strong, but humble, serving as a symbol of La Motte’s spirit of sharing.
- Voortrekker vrou en kinders (Voortrekker women and children) by Anton van Wouw – Showing the courage and perseverance of the Voortrekker women. Can be viewed in the La Motte Museum.
- Harvest girl by Toby Megaw – a celebration of harvest-time, the most important time on a wine estate. Can be viewed in the La Motte Museum.
- Girl with violin by Toby Megaw – celebrating the estate’s long-standing association with classical music. Can be viewed in the La Motte Museum area dedicated to the music and career of renowned mezzo-soprano and owner of La Motte, Hanneli Rupert.
- Mother and Child by Toby Megaw – symbolising the importance of family. Can be viewed in Pierneef à La Motte Restaurant.
- The beautifully feminine figures of Solitude and Rose by Theo Megaw in the La Motte Wine-Tasting Room and Adanté by Theo Megaw in the Rupert Vinoteque.
- The newly revealed, The Kiss, by Theo Megaw centrally placed in the courtyard, symbolises motherly love.
As a toast to this unique acquaintance with art, the La Motte Sculpture Walk is concluded with a tasting of the estate’s limited release La Motte Methôde Cap Classique and an elegant traditional French Madeleine under the age-old oak trees in La Motte’s garden.