Ryno Swart was born in Springbok, South Africa and educated at a number of institutions across South Africa and Europe. His pursuit of a career in fine art began in Paris in 1976, after a number of years working as a successful scriptwriter and storyboarder.

At the time, Ryno’s vision of figurative and naturalistic art was discouraged in many art schools and galleries in favour of modernist principles. It was against these odds that Ryno struggled to find a place for his dreams and creative works; a struggle made all the more challenging by his decision to only work from direct visual experience, and never from photographs.

Ryno’s works fall into three basic categories: work done from life, work done from sketches made in the field, and work done purely from the imagination.

Believing that a message can never be separated from the voice that carries it, Ryno was determined to learn the techniques and methods of the masters he so admired — the likes of Rembrandt, Degas, Turner, Titian, and Vermeer. This desire became a lifelong pursuit of mastery over the artistic process, with Ryno himself proclaiming that many of his successes were simply the result of chance and experimentation. It is, however, undeniable that Ryno maintained an unusual and exceptional command over his medium of oils, pastels, and watercolour.

Over the years, the subject matter of Ryno’s work underwent an evolution. After being exposed to the beauty of European cities for the first time in 1970’s Paris, he found himself surrounded by subjects — from dancers in Parisian nightclubs to architecture, canals, and river barges. After returning to Johannesburg, he felt the need to actively seek out beauty, and found it at the Johannesburg Ballet. It was here that he spent every day of the next four years training his hand and eye through drawings and sketches of the dancers.

In the years that followed, Ryno travelled extensively — sometimes alone, sometimes with his family, and often accompanied by groups of students eager to learn from his example. His journeys took him across South Africa and Europe, where he continued to paint, exhibit, and share his passion for art. Through his teaching, he became a leading figure in the revival of figurative and representational painting in South Africa.

Ryno’s philosophy rested on a deep belief in truth and beauty. His art reflects not only a lifelong devotion to his craft and his principles, but also a profound reverence for the world as it truly appears. Through his study and unyielding curiosity, Ryno left behind a body of work that stands as a celebration of his enduring search for beauty.