.jpg?w=1)
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.’
Sanyu’s quick sketches on paper helped make a name for him in Paris in the 1920s. Hanging around in art houses, studios, workshops, coffee houses, and dance halls, the men and women he saw around him, young or old, all became his subjects. He worked at that time mostly in ink and charcoal, using line sketching with calligraphic lines to depict his subjects’ figures, developing a unique aesthetic from his own particular way of shaping and giving weight to his figures. His sketches of female bodies are so exaggerated as to be almost deformed, with disproportionately small heads and upper bodies, but hips and legs that are far more generous and fleshy. But there is no intent to be obscene or improper; Sanyu instead reveals a certain kind of elegance and charm in his models. With just a few colours and lines of simple certainty, he helped redefine the meaning of beauty for Eastern artists. Sanyu's training in Chinese calligraphy gave him great freedom in shaping his lines when he sketched in a Western style, and the ease and naturalness of his lines became a visual language of his own, reflecting the spirit of Chinese freehand painting.
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.’
Sanyu’s quick sketches on paper helped make a name for him in Paris in the 1920s. Hanging around in art houses, studios, workshops, coffee houses, and dance halls, the men and women he saw around him, young or old, all became his subjects. He worked at that time mostly in ink and charcoal, using line sketching with calligraphic lines to depict his subjects’ figures, developing a unique aesthetic from his own particular way of shaping and giving weight to his figures. His sketches of female bodies are so exaggerated as to be almost deformed, with disproportionately small heads and upper bodies, but hips and legs that are far more generous and fleshy. But there is no intent to be obscene or improper; Sanyu instead reveals a certain kind of elegance and charm in his models. With just a few colours and lines of simple certainty, he helped redefine the meaning of beauty for Eastern artists. Sanyu's training in Chinese calligraphy gave him great freedom in shaping his lines when he sketched in a Western style, and the ease and naturalness of his lines became a visual language of his own, reflecting the spirit of Chinese freehand painting.