Petrus van der Velden
Netherlands / Aotearoa New Zealand / Australia, b.1837, d.1913
Otira Gorge
- 22 Nov 1896
- Charcoal on paper
- Purchased with assistance from the Olive Stirrat bequest, 2008
- 930 x 750mm
- 2008/030
Location: Sir Robertson and Lady Stewart Gallery
Tags: clouds, monochrome, mountains, natural landscapes, rivers, valleys (landforms)
In stark contrast to his Dutch birthplace, the Ōtira region presented Petrus van der Velden with a formidable landscape – rugged, tectonic and shaped by water and time. This dramatic charcoal drawing also records human intervention in the form of the coach road cutting through the steep terrain.
(He Kapuka Oneone – A Handful of Soil, 2025)
Exhibition History
Related
Notes
It was 100 years ago today...
There are not many works in Christchurch Art Gallery's collection that can be pin-pointed to the exact date in which they were completed but Petrus van der Velden's Self-portrait with Otira Gorge is one and it was completed exactly 100 years ago today.
Notes
Space for reflection
This week saw us begin the return of Petrus van der Velden's Otira paintings and drawings to public and private collections throughout New Zealand.
Notes
Alpheus Aldersley's anniversary
Today marks the 118th anniversary of the death of the Rangiora photographer Alpheus Aldersley, who met his maker at Otira while accompanying the painter Petrus van der Velden on a trip to the region in June 1893.