Comedy of Manners

A painting titled Comedy of Manners by the South African artist Frikkie Eksteen painted in 2008 as part of the University of Pretoria's centenary celebration art exhibition. Eksteen was one of the numerous official portrait painters for the University. In 2008 he took the 11 portraits of principals of the first 100 years and computer generated them into 7 figures sitting around a table like the painting by Rembrandt titled The Drapers Guild. Short biography: Frederik (Frikkie) Eksteen was born in 1973 in Pretoria and completed his BA Fine Arts degree in 1995 and his Masters in 2000, both at the University of Pretoria. Eksteen has exhibited both locally and internationally and won several awards including the Judges’ Prize in the Sasol New Signatures competition. The artist is inspired by the interface between digital technology and traditional oil painting, Eksteen’s art is visually complex and conceptually layered, often referencing art history, while simultaneously harnessing new technology. His work is represented in several collections, including that of the Pretoria Art Museum, University of Pretoria, UNISA, Sasol, ABSA and MTN. Eksteen is also a part-time guest lecturer in the University of Pretoria’s Department of Visual Arts.