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Lot Essay
THE NEW EASTERN BEAUTY – LIN FENGMIAN, SANYU, AND WALASSE TING
Painting and calligraphy sketches in ancient China were mostly line drawings in which subjects were outlined in ink. The placement of figures in the compositions, their backgrounds, layouts, overall atmosphere, and imagery were each important. By contrast, ancient sketches in the West were pencil or charcoal drafts that sought to outline their facial features and poses, studying the best method of reflecting nature and the light source; they were concerned with a concrete presentation of the image. The artistic presentation of women by Sanyu, Lin Fengmian, and Walasse Ting represents the continuing evolution of the classical concept of female beauty in the East. Each of them studied abroad, each personally experienced the changes of schools of thought in Western modernism, and they understood the origins of abstract art. But this did not prompt them to blindly pursue either realism or total abstraction; instead, they focused on how to alter their compositions, brushwork, and color so as to capture the character and appeal of their subjects. They incorporated Western techniques and media to set out the visions of Eastern aesthetics and beauty that they implicitly felt in their hearts.
Eastern paintings of beautiful women from different eras consistently favour presentations of their spirit, looks, and expression that emphasize a certain ‘vividness and charm.’ The painters of ancient China strove to give shape to their subjects’ mood and character, and to capture the joys and sorrows of the passing moments, with simple lines and minimal color. Details such as skin texture, the sculpting of physiques, and concern with light and shadow or with the precision of line were expressive elements belonging more to the Western tradition. With regard to subjects painted from life, these kinds of defining aesthetic paradigms have existed respectively in both the East and the West.
Figure paintings in Chinese culture originated from the time of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, gradually becoming even more popular around the time of the Han. From the morality paintings of ancient times that taught filial piety and loyalty toward rulers, and the religious paintings on Daoist or Buddhist themes, their development expanded to include pleasing and visually interesting figure paintings with a strong literati flavour around the time of the Song Dynasty. The conception of the beautiful woman among Eastern artists developed gradually through the changing dynasties, and was even influenced by female nude studies sketched by Western artists, yet it still retained the core aesthetic values of the East. Christie's is honoured to present here a series of fine works by artists of previous generations centred around themes of elegant ladies and female forms. The series explores how pioneering artists of the 20th century such as Sanyu, Lin Fengmian, and Walasse Ting innovated in their paintings of women, and how they enriched the meaning of ‘the Eastern beauty.’
Lin Fengmian broke with the traditional type of paper used in ink-wash painting, deliberately switching from scroll paintings to paper with more regular proportions, in paintings where the women’s figures occupied the entire composition, rather than only one small corner as in those traditional scrolls. In addition to the typical scenes of women paying musical instruments or at their dressing tables, his compositions also featured female nudes lying on their sides or in sitting positions as commonly seen in Western paintings. But if the reclining nudes of the West are odes to corporeal beauty and physical desire, what Lin Fengmian extols in painting such reclining figures is the essential character of lightness and gentle grace that is often uniquely associated with the Eastern woman. His lines not only depict the graceful postures of the female body; he also astutely shows how his subjects blend with their tranquil environs, in order to capture the more reserved sense of beauty of the Eastern woman.
Both Lady in Green and Lake come from the collection of Frances Liu Dea (1938–2018), the daughter of Liu Yih Ling (1903–1994) who was a well-known calligrapher in the Republican period and a friend of Lin Fengmian (1900–1991). Liu and his seven children, including Mrs. Dea, collected a group of Lin’s artworks with genuine appreciation and support of Lin’s artistic career. While the majority of the family’s collection was offered in the market in the past decade, Mrs. Dea kept her beloved paintings and admired them on the walls of her residence.
Lin and Mr. Liu had been lifelong friends, starting out as classmates at Meizhou Middle School. Although they pursued higher education in different countries, Lin and Liu reunited in Chengdu in 1937, when they developed a strong friendship due to their shared passion of advancing their vision of arts and culture. As a professor in Chinese literature, Liu was a respected member of the Chinese literati circle. Many writers, including Chen Shu Ren, a prominent Ling Nan School artist, invited Liu to write a foreword for their publications. In 1954, Liu relocated to Hong Kong where he founded the Christian magazine, Deng Ta, published poems and essays, and created calligraphy. Years later, Lin also relocated to Hong Kong where he spent his remaining years creating new paintings and recreating works lost during the Cultural Revolution. In the early 1970s, Lin sent his son to contact Liu in the United States, and the new chapter of patronage began.
Lin Fengmian was a pivotal figure in the Chinese modern art movement and synthesized Eastern and Western art. Not only was he a director at the National Beijing Fine Art School and the founder of Hangzhou National College of Art (now China Academy of Art), but he was also a pioneering artist and educator who sought to transform Chinese art education. Using the slogan “Promoting the art shared by all classes of the whole nation," Lin endeavored to innovate art education by inviting various artists, such as Qi Baishi and André Claudot, to teach their respective styles and traditions at his schools. In this way, Lin influenced a generation of artists, including Wu Guangzhong, Chu Teh-Chun and Zao Wou-Ki.
Adorned with Lin’s rhythmic brushstrokes and a unique application of ink and colour, Lady in Green captures the gentle and sophisticated femininity of the East. Using forms related to Tang and Song porcelain art as well as Western modern art, the reclining lady exudes a dreamy yet unreachable beauty. In Lake, Lin layered ink and color ink on paper to create a poetic autumn scene. The layering captures the vibrancy of the yellowing willow, whereas the medium gives an airy look to the foliage. The distant islands, the waterfront residence, and the lake water are arranged into horizontal sections on the square picture plane. The well-balanced composition creates a calm and tranquil sentiment. Lin once stated, “The reason Chinese art lasts is because of its lyrical essence.” Lady in Green exhibits elements most coveted by connoisseurs of Lin’s portrait ink work and strongly exemplifies how he was able to meld the oriental feminine elegance with modernist trends. In comparison to Lady in Green, Lake suggests a subtle infusion of nostalgia with many cherished memories before Lin moved away from his hometown, which Lin Fengmian, Liu Yih Ling, and Frances Liu Dea collectively experienced in their lives.
Painting and calligraphy sketches in ancient China were mostly line drawings in which subjects were outlined in ink. The placement of figures in the compositions, their backgrounds, layouts, overall atmosphere, and imagery were each important. By contrast, ancient sketches in the West were pencil or charcoal drafts that sought to outline their facial features and poses, studying the best method of reflecting nature and the light source; they were concerned with a concrete presentation of the image. The artistic presentation of women by Sanyu, Lin Fengmian, and Walasse Ting represents the continuing evolution of the classical concept of female beauty in the East. Each of them studied abroad, each personally experienced the changes of schools of thought in Western modernism, and they understood the origins of abstract art. But this did not prompt them to blindly pursue either realism or total abstraction; instead, they focused on how to alter their compositions, brushwork, and color so as to capture the character and appeal of their subjects. They incorporated Western techniques and media to set out the visions of Eastern aesthetics and beauty that they implicitly felt in their hearts.
Eastern paintings of beautiful women from different eras consistently favour presentations of their spirit, looks, and expression that emphasize a certain ‘vividness and charm.’ The painters of ancient China strove to give shape to their subjects’ mood and character, and to capture the joys and sorrows of the passing moments, with simple lines and minimal color. Details such as skin texture, the sculpting of physiques, and concern with light and shadow or with the precision of line were expressive elements belonging more to the Western tradition. With regard to subjects painted from life, these kinds of defining aesthetic paradigms have existed respectively in both the East and the West.
Figure paintings in Chinese culture originated from the time of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, gradually becoming even more popular around the time of the Han. From the morality paintings of ancient times that taught filial piety and loyalty toward rulers, and the religious paintings on Daoist or Buddhist themes, their development expanded to include pleasing and visually interesting figure paintings with a strong literati flavour around the time of the Song Dynasty. The conception of the beautiful woman among Eastern artists developed gradually through the changing dynasties, and was even influenced by female nude studies sketched by Western artists, yet it still retained the core aesthetic values of the East. Christie's is honoured to present here a series of fine works by artists of previous generations centred around themes of elegant ladies and female forms. The series explores how pioneering artists of the 20th century such as Sanyu, Lin Fengmian, and Walasse Ting innovated in their paintings of women, and how they enriched the meaning of ‘the Eastern beauty.’
Lin Fengmian broke with the traditional type of paper used in ink-wash painting, deliberately switching from scroll paintings to paper with more regular proportions, in paintings where the women’s figures occupied the entire composition, rather than only one small corner as in those traditional scrolls. In addition to the typical scenes of women paying musical instruments or at their dressing tables, his compositions also featured female nudes lying on their sides or in sitting positions as commonly seen in Western paintings. But if the reclining nudes of the West are odes to corporeal beauty and physical desire, what Lin Fengmian extols in painting such reclining figures is the essential character of lightness and gentle grace that is often uniquely associated with the Eastern woman. His lines not only depict the graceful postures of the female body; he also astutely shows how his subjects blend with their tranquil environs, in order to capture the more reserved sense of beauty of the Eastern woman.
Both Lady in Green and Lake come from the collection of Frances Liu Dea (1938–2018), the daughter of Liu Yih Ling (1903–1994) who was a well-known calligrapher in the Republican period and a friend of Lin Fengmian (1900–1991). Liu and his seven children, including Mrs. Dea, collected a group of Lin’s artworks with genuine appreciation and support of Lin’s artistic career. While the majority of the family’s collection was offered in the market in the past decade, Mrs. Dea kept her beloved paintings and admired them on the walls of her residence.
Lin and Mr. Liu had been lifelong friends, starting out as classmates at Meizhou Middle School. Although they pursued higher education in different countries, Lin and Liu reunited in Chengdu in 1937, when they developed a strong friendship due to their shared passion of advancing their vision of arts and culture. As a professor in Chinese literature, Liu was a respected member of the Chinese literati circle. Many writers, including Chen Shu Ren, a prominent Ling Nan School artist, invited Liu to write a foreword for their publications. In 1954, Liu relocated to Hong Kong where he founded the Christian magazine, Deng Ta, published poems and essays, and created calligraphy. Years later, Lin also relocated to Hong Kong where he spent his remaining years creating new paintings and recreating works lost during the Cultural Revolution. In the early 1970s, Lin sent his son to contact Liu in the United States, and the new chapter of patronage began.
Lin Fengmian was a pivotal figure in the Chinese modern art movement and synthesized Eastern and Western art. Not only was he a director at the National Beijing Fine Art School and the founder of Hangzhou National College of Art (now China Academy of Art), but he was also a pioneering artist and educator who sought to transform Chinese art education. Using the slogan “Promoting the art shared by all classes of the whole nation," Lin endeavored to innovate art education by inviting various artists, such as Qi Baishi and André Claudot, to teach their respective styles and traditions at his schools. In this way, Lin influenced a generation of artists, including Wu Guangzhong, Chu Teh-Chun and Zao Wou-Ki.
Adorned with Lin’s rhythmic brushstrokes and a unique application of ink and colour, Lady in Green captures the gentle and sophisticated femininity of the East. Using forms related to Tang and Song porcelain art as well as Western modern art, the reclining lady exudes a dreamy yet unreachable beauty. In Lake, Lin layered ink and color ink on paper to create a poetic autumn scene. The layering captures the vibrancy of the yellowing willow, whereas the medium gives an airy look to the foliage. The distant islands, the waterfront residence, and the lake water are arranged into horizontal sections on the square picture plane. The well-balanced composition creates a calm and tranquil sentiment. Lin once stated, “The reason Chinese art lasts is because of its lyrical essence.” Lady in Green exhibits elements most coveted by connoisseurs of Lin’s portrait ink work and strongly exemplifies how he was able to meld the oriental feminine elegance with modernist trends. In comparison to Lady in Green, Lake suggests a subtle infusion of nostalgia with many cherished memories before Lin moved away from his hometown, which Lin Fengmian, Liu Yih Ling, and Frances Liu Dea collectively experienced in their lives.