Man en monument: Die lewe en werk van Gerard Moerdijk (Afrikaans Edition) by Vermeulen, Irma
Very Scarce Hardcover Africana.
Man en monument: Die lewe en werk van Gerard Moerdijk (Afrikaans Edition) by Vermeulen, Irma
Book Condition.
Hardcover with pictorial Boards. Very good + Condition. Slighjt wear to corners.
Brief description.
ISBN is 9780627024467 / 0627024467.
Publisher: J.L. van Schaik, 1999
Very scarce title, Man en Monument - Die Lewe en Werk van Gerard Moerdijk by Irma Vermeulen. First edition hardcover published 1999. 155 Pages with black and white illustrations.
The story of the architect of probably one of South Africa's best known icons, the Voortrekker Monument.
Both Moerdyks parents were Dutch immigrants, who moved to South Africa in 1888.
During the Second Boer War 1899–1902 Gerard Moerdyk then aged 10 was interred in the Standerton concentration camp with his mother, two brothers and two sisters. After the war, the family lived in Pretoria where Gerard went to the forerunner of Pretoria Boys High School. He matriculated with honours in 1909 and qualified as an architect at the Architectural Association in England. He also studied in France for a while and was exposed to classical Roman and Renaissance architecture in Italy.
Moerdyk was the first South African to be an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Moerdyk returned to South Africa in 1913 and received first prize for the design of a church in Bothaville.
The Voortrekker Monument on Proclamation Hill at the southern outskirts of Pretoria is considered to be Moerdyks masterpiece. He was a South African Freemason.
The Central "Volks" Peoples Monuments Committee started a "Structure Committee" which approached the public in 1936 for suggestions about the contents and form of a monument. Several sketches from sculptors, architects and other artists were submitted. Moerdyk’s design was eventually chosen. E.C Pienaar and A.d. Bouman designed the sculptural laager, or ring of ox-wagons, around the monument.
The South African Academy for Arts and Science awarded Moerdyk an honorary membership in 1936 and in 1950 the University of South Africa awarded him an honorary doctorate.
