Oil on paperboard

30.5 x 22.2cm 12×8 3/4 in

LITERATURE:
2007, The Portrait of Chinese Painting in 20th Century, Sylvie Chen Art Gallery, Taipei, p.43
PROVENANCE
Private collection， France
Apr 1999， Christie’s Taipei Auction， Lot12
Important private collection， AsiaPan

“My entire life is a fight of awareness for Chinese woman in pursuit of love and faith.”
—— Pan Yuliang

Yuliang has been considered a legend of 20th century Chinese art history. She has been called a “first generation Chinese female master” by Liu Haisu and a “first-class Chinese artist of Western painting” by Paris media outlets. Looking back on her life， Pan Yuliang was born in 1895 into a small-town impoverished family. After the death of her parents at her young age， she was sold to a brothel by her uncle and forced to rely upon herself. To her good fortune， she met Pan Zanhua， a Wuhu Customs officer who paid for her freedom out of prostitution， thereafter allowing her the opportunity to develop her natural artistic talents. In 1919， she was admitted with distinction into the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. After graduation， she was sponsored to study abroad in France， enrolling at the École nationale des beaux-arts in Lyon and the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris， and she subsequently studied painting and sculpture at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome， Italy. Over the course of her seven years of art education， Pan’s achievement in her artistic practice became widely recognized. One of the many examples is her 1927 oil painting Nude Lady that was awarded a gold medal at the Italian National Art Exhibition. Shanghai’s Life Weekly magazine published a special report on the achievement， writing， “This is the first time the work of a female Chinese painter has earned the honor of being displayed in Rome， a glorious artistic achievement for our country！”
In 1928， Pan Yuliang was invited by Liu Haisu， president of the Shanghai Academy of Arts， to return to China to teach at his institution. During her eight years as an educator， she was promoted from professor of Western painting to department head and eventually assumed the position of director for the art creation research laboratory within the institute. One can certainly imagine how talented she must have been to achieve such success amidst an era of social conservatism！ During her teaching years， she also frequently put on solo exhibitions of her work that brings Chinese features into colorful world of Western oil painting， and her paintings were committed to melding together China and the West with a personalized artistic approach that captivated the viewer.
In 1937， Pan returned to France， where she remained until her death in 1977. Throughout her 40-year residency， her works gained great respect and recognition within the art world， being displayed in collections at the Musée National d’Art Moderne， Musée Cernuschi， the Institut français de l’éducation， and other museums. Pan’s career as a female artist can be described as one that teetered on the brink of centuries-old and new， a struggle between the tides of conservatism and modernism， and an indicator of the unyielding spirit of modern-day women. Her lifetime of work revolved around themes such as characters， landscapes， still life， and animals， and the auction items Nude Beauty （Lot 757） and Cows （Lot 758） are the capstone works from the mature era of the artist’s career.
Drawing Inspirations from the Ancients： Tasteful openness， Liberated Ease
Pan’s time in France gave her a well-rounded and solid training in artistic concepts， including how to apply perspective and anatomy and integrate them freely in her work. She was “baptized” into modernism， entranced by the bold colors of Fauvism and the special handling of Impressionistic light. She then began her experimentation into combining techniques and aesthetic concepts of traditional Chinese painting with those same essentials of Western art， and this led to her creating a type of personal pictorial language. Completed in 1958， Pan’s Nude Beauty was her capstone work during her second “French period”. That year， she was awarded the Belgium Gold Prize and held a large solo exhibition at the Musée Cernuschi. This period in her life was one where she was， on the whole， doing quite well for herself， producing highly mature art and gaining wide recognition within the art community， and her upbeat spirit was clearly reflected in her art during that time through her use of bright tones and rich colors.
The piece began first with an outline sketch of the character and window lattice on a blueprint layout， distinctive colors only introduced later. Producing lines that appear clean and neat on canvas is a skill that takes artists many years to master. In the words of Jiang Ren， “tight and continuous， well thought out and eloquent，” the woman in the painting sits with her back facing forward， with minor tweaks to her figure giving her a look of cheerfulness and confidence. The curved S-shape of her back pierces through the horizontal composition of the scene， providing viewers with a sense of natural movement. Looking back at the history of female paintings in China， women were already portrayed in silk paintings by the time of the early Warring States and Xihan periods， and paintings displaying females throughout the dynasties portray the various means the people appreciated feminine beauty from age to age. Ancient painters mostly portrayed women with slim and graceful figures and gentle， ladylike facial expressions， making them appear as delicate statues. Pan’s brave personality and Paris open atmosphere， however， gave her the confidence to paint woman in her natural form， full of life， with a well-rounded body revealing a cheerful and unrestricted air. The female portrayed by the artist is just as art critic Lu Rongzhi opined： “How Pan Yuliang represents women in a completely non-erotic way is a true expression of praise for the precious nature and beauty of women.”
From the curtains down to the floor， Pan applies Impressionist Pointillism to depict objects in the background， but she still manages to convert it all through the use of her personalized technique. The quick strokes and dots add layers to the image’s plane， and the artist also uses reds， blues， and oranges mixed with white to create a color scheme that dances on the canvas， conveying the warm springtime sunlight coming in from outside the window and casting itself on the floor. On the reverse of the painting， there is yet another， similar image in which the artist omits the black ink sketch， portraying only a pure halo of color blocks depicting a woman sitting on a red sofa. In this rendition， all realism has disappeared， leading to a mere hazy memory of the original image， independent of abstraction and form recognition. Majestic indigo and various reds and oranges wrestle for attention yet still manage to play off each other， and this leads to a high degree of tension and unique beauty， both glittering and bold. The work serves as a witness to the artist’s attempt to experiment heterogeneous ways of expression.
“Pan Yuliang incorporated the style and charm from various Western schools of painting such as Realism， Impressionism， and Fauvism into traditional Chinese line-drawing methods， not only enriching the expression of Western panting techniques， but also quietly playing on the artistic concepts， rhythm， and poetry of Chinese art，” said Anhui Provincial Museum director Hu Xinmin. “Her compositions are bold and exaggerated， unrestrained yet contemplative， exploding with color yet quiet， and they have a strong sense of rhythm， all lending to a feeling of beauty in viewers alike.” Nude Beauty echoes all of these sensations， providing nothing less than a classic representation of the artist’s rich creative physiognomies.

Price estimate:
HKD: 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
USD: 386,100 – 643,500

Auction Result:
HKD: 5,192,000