Oil on canvas

70×80 cm 27 1/2×31 1/2 in

Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom left

LITERATURE
1994, Chen Junde, Shui Zhongtian, Guangxi Art Publishing House, Nanning, P.20
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist by present Asian ownerBorn in 1937 at Zhenhai in Zhejiang Province， Chen Junde is an eyewitness of the fast evolvement in Shanghai’s realm of present-day painting and has dedicated himself to weaving certain elements of western painting in modern times into threaded fabrics of aesthetic appreciation indigenous to China. By use of coloring and brushwork that gravitate somewhat towards Impressionism and Fauvism， his works showcase a lofty spirit of freehand brushwork in traditional Chinese painting and exhibit a wholesome Shanghai style of generous infusions of anything salubrious， eastern or western.
This work， titled River Valley， was his creation in 1989 and brought later in 1994 into his album of paintings， which was published by Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House. Being one of his earliest works made public in print， this painting was sold by him to a collector who had such an absorbed interest in purchasing the same that he paid a personal visit to the artist. Lying snug in store for over three decades， this work debuted itself in the auction house only to steal the show， owing to its rarity of authorship. In the painting， the artist daubed a matte collage of whole-colored patches alternately in brown and green， dotted with transition hues deployed in so thoughtful a fashion that the delicate nuances in terms of color shade have been brought to full life， with the result that the misty sentiment permeating the woods seems afloat in the air. In the backdrop is a riotous profusion of orange， yellow and blue hues which are gentle nods to the style of richness and exquisiteness advocated by Claude Monet and serve to bolster the airiness and lamination of his mountainous landscape to further depth. Not being a copycat in tinkering with a hasty combo of scenography and chiaroscuro， he has elected instead to incorporate what he learnt from the vast realm of present-day western art into the eastern practices of vibe brewing by way of spiritual association. In modality， this work oozes a smattering of his personal sentiment， as Paul Cézanne and André Derain have done in their masterpieces. Thanks to his artful color shading skills， the artist has not only managed a suggestive tableau of rocks and trees， stream and meadow， but also left hollow strokes on the canvas， thus adding a masterful dimension to the eyeful of readily refined and skillfully textured landscape of mountainous charm.

Price estimate:
HKD: 150,000 – 250,000
USD: 19,200 – 32,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 177,000