Oil on canvas

45×53 cm 17 3/4×20 7/8 in

Signed in Chinese and English， dated on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Collection of Ms. Jiang Biwei
Important private collection， AsiaThe development of Chinese art history in the twentieth century can be categorized into two streams. One is Realism featured by Xu Beihong， and another is Modernism represented by Lin Fengmian. They could be regarded as two art giants， both having reformed Chinese painting with different approaches and pushed the wheel of the era， leaving significant and profound influence to the art history and later generations.
With the determination to revive the adoption of Western techniques and to reform Chinese paintings， Xu Beihong ended his eight years of travel life in Europe and returned to China in 1928. He was offered positions to teach in the Department of Art at the Nanjing University and the Central University， after which he became the director of the Peking Art Institute and later served as the Dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. He has cultivated numerous talented young people during his life. In his art， he absorbs the vantage of having concrete structures from Classicalism， the characteristics of being dynamic from Romanticism， the insight of observing nature in Realism， the technique of representing light-color relationships in Expressionism， and created a series of touching artworks. His oil painting features portraits， with a small amount being landscapes. During 1928-1933， the golden period of his creation， he completed many epic pieces of work that reflect social reality， such as “Tianheng and Its Five Hundred Heroes”， “Jiu Fanggao”，“Xi Wo Hou”， and so on， acclaiming the national spirit via his art creation while entertaining his expectation of the real world. “Fruitful Year” on sale this time was completed in 1928. It is a very rare still-life work by Xu Beihong， reflecting his perception of another aspect of life， precious and special.
Exploring vastness while observing meticulousness
“The study of art must be “serious”. Being serious means implementing very precise study and explicit observations for everything in the universe. For example， the same color “red”， could have slight differences in its degree. We must observe precisely and present its degree properly. This is the so-called strength. Strength is absolute accurateness.”
—— Xu Beihong’s speech at China Art University in 1926
In Fruitful Year， Xu Beihong delineates three apples and a basket of loquats on the table in a Classicist way， for which his maintains the spirit of seriousness， undertaking clear and precise observation towards those still objects. For example， the apples in the painting are quite vivid， each of which demonstrates a different angle of the object lying on one side， some up-side down， and some sitting upright， entertaining different gravitational center and different looks. The artist endows dynamic life to this static setting through careful arrangements. On the arrangement of the fruit-peel color， there are various transitions of brightness and saturation for merely the color “red”— the abundant presence of colors perfectly reveals themselves under his subtle brushworks. While the table underneath is so bright and clean that it could reflect the shadows of the apples. The heavy wooden texture is also illustrated through repetitive practices of his brush work. Close to those apples， there is a basket of loquats which seem to be freshly picked. The plentiful fruits disclose a harvesting atmosphere of the mid-summer； adequate leaves seem to be delivering refreshing vigor of the fruit tree. Interestingly， Xu Beihong specifically merges the freehand spirit of Chinese ink paintings into the realistic practice of the Western oil painting， which is particularly reflected in the depiction of the loquat leaves and the bamboo basket. The artist employs strong short brush strokes to concisely outline the leaf-veins， leaving traces of the scattering light. While the bamboo basket is painted totally not in accordance with the principle of perspective， and even with some deformation， the entity has no loss of harmony， reflecting his marvelous skills. As the artist Ai Zhongxin said， “Xu Beihong’s oil painting emphasizes the shapes and the contours， but this does not abate the profound connection of the main body and the environment. All these are of Western principles， but his works are also filled with characteristics of figures in Chinese paintings， so they are not contrary to the taste of Chinese people. His skills， accentuate the detailed， yet are not limited to the details. They emphasize the generality but do not yield to emptiness. They are rigorous but not rigid. He knows how to choose properly—the so-called taking care of all the meticulousness while reaching out to the vastness. “In seek of truth， his work does not at all lack the pursuit of the grace and goodness in a broader scope.
Deposited memory， precious collection
With his refined brushes and careful observations， Xu Beihong transforms the seemingly usual and still fruits and vegetables in daily life into a scenery full of tranquility and beauty， meaningful and eternal. The fruits in the painting contain symbolic meanings. For example， the loquat is not only one of the artist’s favorite fruits， but according to the “Flower Mirror”， the loquat is regarded as “the fortune fruit with the spirit of the four seasons”. Loquat tree is also known as “treasures in all parts of the tree”. While apple is a symbol of peace and happiness， this work also embodies the sense of sufficiency and fulfillment in the artist’s heart and creation. When the work was completed， Xu Beihong and Jiang Biwei’s first son， Xu Boyang， was just born. The joy of becoming a father was overflowing， and the family life was blissful. Regarding his career， he was at the time highly respected and followed in the education sector. He probably was also depositing this perfect joyfulness in the work Fruitful Year. There is no worry for the nation and the people， only pure beauty， kindness， and self-sufficiency. Fruitful Year is from the artist’s wife Jiang Biwei’s old collection. Though Jiang divorced Xu Beihong in 1934， she took this painting with her till her departure. We can tell how she cherished it. Maybe for her， this painting holds the memory from getting to know to falling in love with Xu Beihong， and of the merry and joyful family life she had with Xu when they just came back to Shanghai from France. The story enriches the meaning and connotation of this work.

“Masterpieces painted by Xu Beihong are implicitly powerful， sophisticated yet creative. His style is one and only in China， and could be everlasting beyond the generation.”
── 康有為 Kang Youwei

Price estimate:
HKD: 7,000,000 – 12,000,000
USD: 900,900 – 1,544,400

Auction Result:
HKD: --