Cornelius Bosch

Cornelius Bosch (1956 – 2011)

Brief overview:

Cornelius (55), an acclaimed Afrikaner artist, who was last seen on February 24, is believed to have disappeared from his Buffelsdrift, Kameeldrift home on Tuesday 1st of March 2011.

Investigating officer Warrant Officer Stephen Joubert also said that forensic investigators could find nothing amiss at his home. It was clean and tidy. Nothing appeared out of place.

His charred remains were found on the 4th March in the Derdepoort veld about 8km away. He was identified from dental records. Bosch had also suffered a gunshot wound to the head.

Brief Biography:

• Other Victims/Family
  • Lerm said it was difficult breaking the news to his mother. “We gave his mom, who’s 82, the news. It’s good to have the closure, although it’s very stressful and very heart sore.”
  • Bosch’s younger sister, who is a famous artist in Australia, was expected to arrive in South Africa.
• Funeral/Memorial
  • The service was held in the Living Word Church in Brummeria, Pretoria, almost a month after Bosch's burnt body was found.
• The Farm/Smallholding
• The Region (Land disputes, other incidents etc.)

Attack Details:

• Date and time of attack
• Weapons
• Items Stolen
  • Bosch's GWM bakkie, registration XJC187GP, and cellphone were missing.
• Investigative officer/SAPS Case No:
  • w/o Stephen Joubert on 082-565-6887 or w/o Pieter van der Merwe on 071-993-7019
• Torture, Gratuitous violence
• Indications of Hate Crime? Threats etc.

Perpetrator details:

• Number and Descriptions
• Arrests
  • Bosch's personal assistant, Christoffel "Christo" Potgieter (26), and five other men were arrested shortly after Bosch's body was found. Potgieter and his fellow accused, Abraham Rabie (32), Delgado Swarts (26), Lowan Lottering (30), Schabir Mohammed (31), and Lee Maggie (29), were however all released on low-bail amounts shortly thereafter.
• Name/s and age/s of Perpetrator/s
• Country of origin of Perpetrator/s
• Trial/Conviction
  • Magistrate Bernard Swart set the men free after prosecutor Hanna Conradie told the court that a decision had been taken by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions to withdraw the case against the six men due to lack of evidence.
  • After court proceedings Conradie said a formal inquest into the death and circumstances surrounding the death of the artist would be held at a later date, and was called for because there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the men. He said depending on the findings of the inquest it could still be possible that charges would be re-instituted.
  • Three of the men - Rabie, Lottering and Maggie will face charges of theft for the theft of Bosch's GWM bakkie in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court.
  • Christo Potgieter has since emigrated to New Zealand.

Additional Biographical Information:

Cornelius Bosch was a renowned and prolific Afrikaner Artist - he painted some 15,000 works of art in his lifetime.
The art website Artween said Bosch describes himself as a South African artist who has been working as a painter full-time for 20 years. His works range from landscapes to abstract paintings.

For more than five years, until 2009, he donated a painting that was auctioned off at the Beeld Children's Fund's annual Valentine's Dinner for the benefit of the fund. Alice Bester of the Alice Art Gallery in Roodepoort, Johannesburg, said Bosch was the sweetest and gentlest person. "He was hopelessly too young to go, but he went straight to heaven."

In his own words:

I am a South African artist. I have been working as a full time painter for twenty years. My work ranges from landscapes, to abstract work. Most of the work is done in acrylic, although I do work in oils as well. My real love is with color and light and that I am always looking to catch that illusive magical light in my landscapes. I use the same landscape many times over and try to overcome that limitation by the use of color and light.

Cornelius Bosch is at peace with his Saviour. He is comfortable in his own skin and content with life. He loved people and colour and it is proven by his hospitality and cooking experiments. The fact that he loved life makes his disappearance hard to believe.

Bosch’s lively interpretation of life is visible in galleries and private collections all over the world. Cornelius was born in 1956 and studied at the Technikon of Pretoria. He worked as a freelance graphic artist for a few years and decided to make painting his career, which he has been doing for the past 20 years.

His name is linked to expressionistic art work of flowers. This artist also has a reputation for dramatic landscapes.

As a true South African artist, Cornelius gets his inspiration from his country and its history.

“I am always intrigued by developing new techniques and styles” says this professional painter. Bosch’s work is indeed varied. It includes vibrantly dramatic bowls of flowers, classical landscapes, interpretive impressionist renditions of both of these. Throughout however, Bosch embraces warmth and texture and his play with multiple layers of translucent colour and the effect of light is highly individual. This artist is indeed able to vary his work between intricate detail and bold expression.

According to this artist South African art is in a new phase following public awareness of culture in general: ballet, theatre, art openings and expos. People appreciate and want to buy art, to be surrounded by works that they enjoy.

He relishes the embracing of so many styles and he has recently started with a more abstract range, plus works in coloured glass. He has also made beautiful furniture. Bosch can be prolific but is highly disciplined. He works from 09h00 to the evening of every week-day, treating his art as a professional undertaking. He says: “You have to be constant and you have to provide high quality work. After so many years I’ve developed a track record and my work has stood the test of time; every other type of recognition comes second.”

It is this perseverance and dedication that has made a Bosch painting a highly desirable object for collectors and investors alike. from: http://www.aliceart.co.za/artist?id=93

Links to Media articles:

• https://web.archive.org/web/20110311015202/http://www.beeld.com/Sui...
• https://web.archive.org/web/20110513162936/http://www.ofm.co.za/new...
• http://archive.vn/khknt
• http://archive.vn/eGGrx
• http://archive.vn/4SWoy
• http://archive.vn/0IilM
• http://archive.vn/XAjjH
• http://archive.vn/i48q3
• http://archive.vn/xEC7F
• http://archive.vn/XyU8h
• https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000194674135834

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