Oil on canvas

45.5 × 53 cm. 17 7/8 × 20 7/8 in.

Inscripted, signed, dated and located in Chinese on upper left
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by Mr. Shinichiro Shiraishi, previous Chairman of Japan China Association from the artist
Private Collection, Asia

Note: This work is confirmed by the artist's son Chang Jiahuang as the original work by the artist

A Song Played in Early Spring, Lasting Friendship More Fragrant
Testimonies of Goodwill between Chang Shuhong and Mr. Shinichiro Shiraishi

Born in Hangzhou, Chang Shuhong loved watercolor and oil painting since he was a child. At the age of 23, he went to study in France and was admitted into Paul Albert Laurens' studio at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris because of his work Dressing Up. He graduated first of his class and gained fame later on. Since then, he has won gold and silver medals in Lyon's and Paris' Fine Arts Salon five times and his works have been collected by the French National Museum. He has also been elected as a member of the Paris Artist Association and the Paris Portrait Society. Among the Chinese students who studied abroad in the early 19th century, Chang Shuhong was the first to be acknowledged and received by the western art world.

Transnational Goodwill: A Thirty-Year Bond between China and Japan

In 1936, Chang Shuhong discovered Bo Xihe's Dunhuang Catalogue in Paris and was deeply impressed. As a result, he returned home and devoted himself to protecting and promoting Dunhuang art, more than 50 years. He took inspiration from Dunhuang art and brought it into his own craftmanship, creating a new style and exerting profound influence on the Chinese oil painters, which were still very much at the influence of western art without their own voice. Meanwhile, he was committed to promoting Dunhuang culture to the world. From 1960 to 1988, he traveled to Japan several times to give lectures and was regarded as China's “national treasure” by the Japanese academics.
In 1985, invited by Guan Yuanjun, the abbot of Zao Temple in Tokyo, Chang Shuhong visited Japan with his wife and children for three months and painted 7 murals for the temple. During this period, they maintained close contact with Mr. Shinichiro Shiraishi, the director of the Sino-Japan Friendship Association back then. Out of their mutual passion for Dunhuang art, the two became confidants. Before Chang left Japan, he entrusted his two sons who were studying in Japan with Mr. Shiraishi. His son Chang Jiahuang once recalled, “During my thirty-four years stay in Japan, Mr. Shiraishi treated me like his own son, helping me in every possible way and providing me with guidance”. Mr. Shinichiro Shiraishi was a good mentor and a helping friend to all Chinese residents in Japan then. From his first visit to China in 1967 to his death in 2017, he has traveled to China for more than 600 times. Chinese officials bestowed him the title “the only person in Japan who regards maintaining Sino-Japanese friendship as his lifelong profession”.
The piece being auctioned this time, Flushing Autumn came from Mr. Shiraishi Shinichiro's collection. It was painted in 1985, when Chang Shuhong visited Japan and it made its debut to the general public for the first time in 35 years. It not only documents a sincere personal friendship, but also becomes a precious historical testimony to the connection between China and Japan. This piece has been identified by Chang Shuhong's son, artist Chang Jiahuang, as an authentic piece. It is a representative of Chang's still life oil paintings in his later years.

The Harmony Between Movement And Stillness, My Home Is Where My Heart Finds Peacefulness

Chang Shuhong has a penchant for still life paintings and he is skillful at depicting objects with melodious and profound aura. This is characteristic of Flushing Autumn. Chang uses rich and varied brushstrokes and colors to outline the details of tablecloth, the vase and flowers, forming a diverse sense of space. He also uses smooth flowing lines to draw viewers' sight, denoting a sense of rhythm and vitality, so that the piece is imbued with both the heroic patriotism and the subtle and subdued realism. The noble and elegant Chinese aesthetics, and subtle and simple wabi-sabi Japanese aesthetics converge in this piece.

The succinct background, an obvious modernist approach, is filled with subtle gray tones to create light and shade changes on both sides of the walls, forming a sense of depth. The top of the blue tablecloth is deliberately arranged slightly above eyesight, generating a sleek and dynamic feel. The transparent structure of the glass to the right of the vase accentuates the right side of the picture, bringing movement in tranquility through the tactics of composition and color.

The blossoming peonies, bunches of grapes, as well as the cloisonne tablecloth imply harmony and prosperity, which demonstrate not only the artist's sincere blessings to his friends, but also elements of traditional Chinese culture. A few white Japanese peonies appear in the middle, subtly referring to the lasting friendship between Chang's family and Mr. Shiraishi, the goodwill between China and Japan. This picture also denotes a sense of mutual encouragement between Chang and Mr. Shiraishi to work hard towards their high ideals, which makes it special and valuable.

Price estimate:
HKD: 200,000 – 300,000
USD: 25,800 – 38,700

Auction Result:
HKD: 354,000