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Lot Essay
Born in 1908 in Shanghai, Mr Chen Chi Chang was engaged in steel import and distribution businesses before the 1950s. In the 1970s, Mr Chen and his son, together with their business partner Mr Liu Hao Tsing, fully acquired Ferchemicals, a company established by Montedison in 1956, and became the Asia exclusive agent for Montedison & Isagro. With a few other business partners, Mr Chen and Mr Liu established Chinese Arts & Crafts (HK) Limited in 1959. The emporium quickly became the centre stage for promoting Chinese art and culture through the sales of Chinese paintings, jades, carvings, embroideries and other Chinese works of art in Hong Kong. Through his association with Chinese art, Mr Chen had acquired a keen eye for beautiful objects and amassed an exceptional personal collection of paintings. The current lot, Lin Fengmian’s Opera Figures, is a prime example of the masterpieces from his collection.
Opera Figures is rare amongst Lin Fengmian’s depictions of Chinese opera scenes as the composition consists of four figures. The artist painted four actresses in a vivid but coordinated manner, with their eyes looking toward the centre of the painting whilst each figure has her unique posture and movement. Lin painted his figures in minimalistic plane shapes of distinct, bright colours against layers of fluid and translucent fabric of the costumes. The visual effect is easily relatable to Cubism, a lifelong influence on Lin’s art. The almost concealed lotus lantern in the foreground leads us to deduce that the opera scene is likely Lotus Lantern, one of the artist’s favourite subject matters in his Opera Figures series. This painting is typical of Lin’s artistic style in the 1950s and the 1960s, differing from his bolder, more expressionistic paintings in his later years. One can easily share the artist’s pursuit of harmony and elegance in this period through this painting.
Opera Figures is rare amongst Lin Fengmian’s depictions of Chinese opera scenes as the composition consists of four figures. The artist painted four actresses in a vivid but coordinated manner, with their eyes looking toward the centre of the painting whilst each figure has her unique posture and movement. Lin painted his figures in minimalistic plane shapes of distinct, bright colours against layers of fluid and translucent fabric of the costumes. The visual effect is easily relatable to Cubism, a lifelong influence on Lin’s art. The almost concealed lotus lantern in the foreground leads us to deduce that the opera scene is likely Lotus Lantern, one of the artist’s favourite subject matters in his Opera Figures series. This painting is typical of Lin’s artistic style in the 1950s and the 1960s, differing from his bolder, more expressionistic paintings in his later years. One can easily share the artist’s pursuit of harmony and elegance in this period through this painting.