Oil on board

43 x 55 cm. 16 7/8 x 21 5/8 in.

Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom left

LITERATURE
2010, Artist Li Ruinian, People' s Art Publishing House, Beijing, p.104-105
EXHIBITED
1981, Paintings of Li Ruinian, National Art Museum of China, Beijing
20 Jul – 31 Dec 2019, Oil Painting Master Li Ruinian Exhibition, Shixiang Space, Beijing

PROVENANCE
Previous Collection of the artist's family
Private Collection, Asia

Note: An exhibition label from National Art Museum of China is affixed on the reverse

Meditative and Elegant, Nonaspirational yet Faithful
Li Ruinian, The Top Landscape Painter in China

Born in 1910, Li Ruinian was enrolled in the Department of Fine Arts of National University of Beijing, which was later turned into National College of Fine Arts of Beijing. There he was instructed by Wei Tianlin, an artist graduated from Japan. Li Ruinian formed his aesthetic preference for the nature, with which he expressed poetic sentiments. In 1933 he visited Europe for further study. After studying for a while in Belgium, he was then admitted to École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. During his stay in Europe he paid painstaking efforts in studying the painting techniques applied in classical art, which laid a solid foundation for his art creation. Upon his completion of his study in 1937 he returned to China, taking up teaching in the Department of Fine Arts at the National Central University. He committed himself to art creation, but he was forced to give up painting during the Cultural Revolution. It was not until 1978 that he was again able to pick up his art creation. Green completed in 1980 shows the reignited passion for art and his mind after the long suspension.

Green is the best exemplar of embedding a meditative and an elegant feature into a landscape. A serene atmosphere dominates the painting, created with the main hues such as turquoise, bright green and beige, which are typical colors found in the nature. The structure of its composition is clearly distinguished. In the background Li employs a simple approach. By deliberately reducing the color contrast, he artistically represents the damp, foggy air, as if the humid air is flooding towards the viewers. This is his accurate depiction of the real life. On the other hand, he strives to bring out the subtle color changes of the tender, bright green bamboos in the middle ground. The strong contrast the bamboos strike against the light background make them stand out, and the viewers could almost feel the fresh breeze from the bamboos. In terms of composition, Li adopts multiple vanishing points to enrich the viewing experience. This makes the structure of the painting refreshed and lively. A sense of serenity and a broad and wide view is thus presented. A group of greyish trees stand among the light green bamboos, balancing the whole canvas. Li uses a fraction of vertical lines to depict the trees while the curves for the bamboos, whose apparent comparison renders the variable beauty of the nature. Such is Li's masterful and delicate use of different lines for vegetation.

Price estimate:
HKD: 500,000 – 600,000
USD: 64,500 – 77,400

Auction Result:
HKD: 590,000