Colenso Bridge

A drawing depicting the South African Colenso Bridge by the Dutch-born South African artist, Frans David Oerder (1867-1944) was drawn on 3 December 1899. During the South African War (1899-1902) he was paid by the Transvaal Government to paint scenes from the war. He was captured as a prisoner of war, but stayed in Pretoria where he painted the everyday life of the British in the capital. This is one of the drawings created by him during the war. Just before the Battle of Colenso on the 15th of December 1899 the Boer forces demolished the railway bridge spanning the Tugela River in KwaZulu Natal as to stop the British forces to reach their ultimate goal, the end of the siege of the town Ladysmith. Short Biography: Frans Oerder was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and came to South Africa in 1890. He was mostly known for painting landscapes, still-life and portraits. After the South African War, Oerder returned to The Netherlands in 1908 where he settled and married a fellow painter named Gerda Pitlo in 1910. In 1938, with a second war looming in Europe, Oerder returned to South Africa where he passed away in 1944.