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拍品专文
"Some friends like to ask me how I entered the work of art. My answers are fairly simple. I tell them that to become an artist one must first love and respect one’s work. One must be honest in one’s art, and beginners in painting should study from direct observation of Nature, from meticulous investigation of Nature’s myriad transformations to increase their powers of observation." - Lee Man Fong
Following the successful sale of Fifteen Goldfish in 2012, Christie’s is pleased to present Peace Doves - which will be the second-largest early painting by Lee Man Fong offered at auction to date. Works of this size and scale are exceedingly rare, and was painted during the pivotal period of Lee Man Fong's artistic progression. Peace Doves resonates with Lee Man Fong’s great virtuosity in assimilating both East and West artistic approaches. Lee’s ambition to paint on a large format panel during this significant period, in turn, showcased his profound passion of searching and painting beyond the ordinary through his art.
GREATNESS IN QUIETNESS
Recognised intrinsically as one of the most important figures of Indonesian Modern Art Movement did not make Lee satisfied with his artistic development nor try to earn a living with producing more paintings. Despite his high artistic profile, appointed as a Palace Artist by the late President Soekarno, Lee chose to remain unassuming and unpretentious, working for and dedicated himself to art with the hope that his works would communicate with anyone who needed them. It is with his humbleness that he explored the fullest potential of his artistry and produced many remarkable works with a new aesthetic that he introduced through his works, experimenting with the creation of pictorial space, and pushed the limit of the oil medium to the execution of brush strokes with the oil brush.
INCULTURATION OF THE EAST AND THE WEST
A self-taught artist, he grasped firmly the opportunity to study abroad in Holland under the Malino scholarship. Lee Man Fong's early works were then profoundly influenced by the great Dutch Impressionism movement well-known for their sombre palette and immaculate technique in reflecting light. However, during his short period in Holland Lee had a realisation on his future ambition. He had a meeting with an Indonesian artist exhibiting at The Hague when he realised that although the exhibition was dubbed as an Eastern offering, it displayed works that appeared more Western in its execution but lacked any concentrated originality and looked like pure imitation of Western Arts. From that point in time, Lee diverted his ambition to create works that were not just Western elements but of Eastern expression by combining the techniques from both worlds.
Gifted to the original owner by the artist, Peace Doves is one of the most notable and rare works from the 1940s when Lee was exquisitely producing paintings of goldfish and doves. In this panoramic painting, Lee Man Fong take us to a distant place, a place where an ordinary person would never expect, elevating the pictorial plane high above the clouds. At the foreground of the composition, a flock of doves are seen resting peacefully at the centre of the cliff while two other doves are carefully watching them from both sides, and a couple of doves are watching from above, as if that they are guarding the pact against the harm that they may encounter. A couple more doves are also seen flying away from the cliff, and some are also making their way to roost, balancing the stillness of the doves on shore while at the same time introducing dynamism to the work. The portrayal of doves becomes essential to the painting, not only as a focal subject, but they also bring out Lee Man Fong’s mastery in Western technique. Different from his contemporary Affandi, whose works portrayed emotional quality of his subject with his lively line works, Lee Man Fong brushwork is smooth and studied. His broad and gestural brushstrokes carefully form the birds, displaying a visual-tactile quality that mimicked the bird's feather – an extraordinary realistic rendition of the animal which is well-known as a universal symbol of peace.
With Peace Doves, we can not only appreciate Lee’s remarkable understanding of Western technique but also his fresh stylistic approach by incorporating Oriental sensibilities in his practice. In this particular painting, Lee Man Fong introduced a sense of depth and ancient remoteness by surrounding the scene with an impressionistic mountainous landscape in the background, evocative to the Chinese landscape work, manifesting harmony intended by the artist. It is with Peace Doves that Lee Man Fong is seen to show his cultural identity, a balance between his practical training and his aesthetic lineage.
It is also with this painting that we can see the dramatic change of style of the artist but also the change of palette to Lee Man Fong’s painting. Moving away from the sombre colours of the impressionism style of paintings he was exposed to, Lee is applying delicate colours to further enhance his true message of tranquillity and peace to the viewer. Turquoise is seen as the primary shade to his background of diminishing mountaintops, while he adorned the sturdy brown cliff with buds of yellow sunflowers introducing a sense of warmth and, again, balance to this cool-toned work, accentuating the poetic meaning and emotions of Lee’s message. Despite its simplistic appearance, Lee’s work reveals imagery and symbolic intent.
Peace Doves showcases the importance and continuing relevance of Chinese culture and cultural meaning in Lee Man Fong’s life and work during this transitional period in his artistic oeuvre. Furthermore, Lee’s modesty helped him to be very intense and enabled him to master a unique style displayed through this masterpiece. Peace Doves is an exceptional piece by the artist that elevates the significance of everyday life and showcased Lee Man Fong at his finest in both Eastern and Western qualities. It is without a doubt that Lee Man Fong is revered as one of Indonesia’s finest and most lauded artists of all time.
Following the successful sale of Fifteen Goldfish in 2012, Christie’s is pleased to present Peace Doves - which will be the second-largest early painting by Lee Man Fong offered at auction to date. Works of this size and scale are exceedingly rare, and was painted during the pivotal period of Lee Man Fong's artistic progression. Peace Doves resonates with Lee Man Fong’s great virtuosity in assimilating both East and West artistic approaches. Lee’s ambition to paint on a large format panel during this significant period, in turn, showcased his profound passion of searching and painting beyond the ordinary through his art.
GREATNESS IN QUIETNESS
Recognised intrinsically as one of the most important figures of Indonesian Modern Art Movement did not make Lee satisfied with his artistic development nor try to earn a living with producing more paintings. Despite his high artistic profile, appointed as a Palace Artist by the late President Soekarno, Lee chose to remain unassuming and unpretentious, working for and dedicated himself to art with the hope that his works would communicate with anyone who needed them. It is with his humbleness that he explored the fullest potential of his artistry and produced many remarkable works with a new aesthetic that he introduced through his works, experimenting with the creation of pictorial space, and pushed the limit of the oil medium to the execution of brush strokes with the oil brush.
INCULTURATION OF THE EAST AND THE WEST
A self-taught artist, he grasped firmly the opportunity to study abroad in Holland under the Malino scholarship. Lee Man Fong's early works were then profoundly influenced by the great Dutch Impressionism movement well-known for their sombre palette and immaculate technique in reflecting light. However, during his short period in Holland Lee had a realisation on his future ambition. He had a meeting with an Indonesian artist exhibiting at The Hague when he realised that although the exhibition was dubbed as an Eastern offering, it displayed works that appeared more Western in its execution but lacked any concentrated originality and looked like pure imitation of Western Arts. From that point in time, Lee diverted his ambition to create works that were not just Western elements but of Eastern expression by combining the techniques from both worlds.
Gifted to the original owner by the artist, Peace Doves is one of the most notable and rare works from the 1940s when Lee was exquisitely producing paintings of goldfish and doves. In this panoramic painting, Lee Man Fong take us to a distant place, a place where an ordinary person would never expect, elevating the pictorial plane high above the clouds. At the foreground of the composition, a flock of doves are seen resting peacefully at the centre of the cliff while two other doves are carefully watching them from both sides, and a couple of doves are watching from above, as if that they are guarding the pact against the harm that they may encounter. A couple more doves are also seen flying away from the cliff, and some are also making their way to roost, balancing the stillness of the doves on shore while at the same time introducing dynamism to the work. The portrayal of doves becomes essential to the painting, not only as a focal subject, but they also bring out Lee Man Fong’s mastery in Western technique. Different from his contemporary Affandi, whose works portrayed emotional quality of his subject with his lively line works, Lee Man Fong brushwork is smooth and studied. His broad and gestural brushstrokes carefully form the birds, displaying a visual-tactile quality that mimicked the bird's feather – an extraordinary realistic rendition of the animal which is well-known as a universal symbol of peace.
With Peace Doves, we can not only appreciate Lee’s remarkable understanding of Western technique but also his fresh stylistic approach by incorporating Oriental sensibilities in his practice. In this particular painting, Lee Man Fong introduced a sense of depth and ancient remoteness by surrounding the scene with an impressionistic mountainous landscape in the background, evocative to the Chinese landscape work, manifesting harmony intended by the artist. It is with Peace Doves that Lee Man Fong is seen to show his cultural identity, a balance between his practical training and his aesthetic lineage.
It is also with this painting that we can see the dramatic change of style of the artist but also the change of palette to Lee Man Fong’s painting. Moving away from the sombre colours of the impressionism style of paintings he was exposed to, Lee is applying delicate colours to further enhance his true message of tranquillity and peace to the viewer. Turquoise is seen as the primary shade to his background of diminishing mountaintops, while he adorned the sturdy brown cliff with buds of yellow sunflowers introducing a sense of warmth and, again, balance to this cool-toned work, accentuating the poetic meaning and emotions of Lee’s message. Despite its simplistic appearance, Lee’s work reveals imagery and symbolic intent.
Peace Doves showcases the importance and continuing relevance of Chinese culture and cultural meaning in Lee Man Fong’s life and work during this transitional period in his artistic oeuvre. Furthermore, Lee’s modesty helped him to be very intense and enabled him to master a unique style displayed through this masterpiece. Peace Doves is an exceptional piece by the artist that elevates the significance of everyday life and showcased Lee Man Fong at his finest in both Eastern and Western qualities. It is without a doubt that Lee Man Fong is revered as one of Indonesia’s finest and most lauded artists of all time.