Battiss, Walter (1906-1982), was a South African painter who was strongly influenced by the primitive art of his country, especially rock painting. During the 1930’s, Battiss was among the first South Africans to recognize the artistic importance of the rock art of southern Africa. He wrote several books on rock art and incorporated the forms of rock art into his own paintings. Battiss’s colorful style combined primitive forms with the influence of modern European artists. Battiss painted in oils but also created significant graphic art, drawings, and water colors.
Walter Whall Battiss was born on Jan. 6, 1906, in Somerset East, now in Eastern Cape province. After completing training as an art teacher in 1932, he became fascinated by paintings left on the walls of caves by the San (see San). In Europe in 1938, he met Henri Breuil, a French scholar who was also interested in rock paintings. Battiss published his first book on the subject, The Amazing Bushmen, in 1939.
In 1944, Battiss exhibited his copies of rock paintings. The intricate geometric beadwork of the Ndebele also fascinated him. His own paintings and woodcuts tended toward symbolism (see Symbolism). In 1948, his interest in art took him to the Namib Desert, where he lived among the descendants of the San. Battiss was professor of fine arts at the University of South Africa from 1964 to 1971. In his later travels, pre-Islamic art also caught his attention. Battiss published Limpopo (1965), a collection of drawings, prints, paintings, photographs, prose, and poetry, all inspired by the Limpopo River and areas near the river. Battiss died on Aug. 20, 1982.
