Oil on canvas

92.5 × 72.5 cm. 36 3/4 × 28 1/2 in.

Signed in English on bottom right

LITERATURE
1998, Yun Gee, Lin & Keng Gallery, Inc., Taipei, p. 28-29
2006, Christie's Hong Kong 20 Years: 20th Century Chinese Art Highlights, Asian Contemporary Art Highlights, Hong Kong, p. 65
2014, World Famous Artists: Yungee Chu, Hebei Publishing Media Group, Shijiazhuang, p. 59
EXHIBITED
14 Nov-1 Dec 1998, Yun Gee Solo Exhibition, Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei

PROVENANCE
Lin & Keng Gallery, Taipei
22 Apr 2001, Christie's Taipei Spring Auction, Lot 11
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

Spiritual Cohesion-Painting Poetry
Yun Gee's Rare Museum Masterpiece André Salmon

Yun Gee (1906-1963) was the first ethnic Chinese artist to achieve an important position in Western modern art, demonstrating throughout his life a unique vision and breadth of mind that enabled him to develop an artistic genre combining Eastern and Western elements. After leaving home in Guangzhou at the age of 15, Yun travel led to San Francisco, Paris and New York, learning the artistic forms of avant-garde art while nostalgic for his hometown and maintaining a passion for Chinese literature and poetry. In the 1940s, Yun proposed the idea of “diamondism,” which fully encapsulated his personal aesthetics. Indeed, French art critic Pierre Mille wrote: “He created a new technique imbued with his own style ... this was an unprecedented experiment and as such his success was inevitable,” making him the pride of the Chinese world.

Large Portrait from Yun Gee's Golden Era in the 1930s

“All of Paris will ultimately discover his imagination, poet-like sensitivity, profound spiritual strength and how the honesty of his work pulls at the heart strings.”

――Princess Achille Murat

In November 1926, 20-year-old Yun Gee held his first solo exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which was a huge success and sold all 72 works exhibited. In addition, Prince and Princess Achille Murat from Paris not only collected Yun's paintings, the next year the princess sponsored him to undertake advanced studies in the art capital of the world. This marked the beginning of a wonderful period for Yun Gee in which he had extraordinary success in Paris.

From 1927-1930 and 1936-1939, Yun Gee lived and worked in Paris. In the 1920s, he held solo exhibitions at Galerie Carmine and Galerie des Artiste et Artisan, his first taste of life as a successful artist. In 1936, when Yun returned to Paris his artistic career and prestige were at their peak and in 1936 and 1938 he was invited to hold solo exhibitions at the prestigious Galerie à la Reine Margot. Thereafter, the artist participated in autumn salon exhibitions and independent salon exhibitions, taking part in 14 group exhibitions in 1938, where his works were shown alongside those of Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Chaim Soutine. It was during the eight years Yun lived in Paris that Princess Achille Murat introduced him to artist Pierre Mille, poet Paul Valérie and other renowned figures who he included in his art work. It is against this background that he painted the work André Salmon in 1939, a testament to a wonderful time in his life, both for his attainments in art and business and the friendships he made.

Throughout his life Yun painted about 200 oil painting portraits, most of which were self portraits, members of his family or unknown models. Very few were of individuals who were part of his life, close friends or included their names. Records indicate that fewer than 20 portraits by Yun Gee are known to exist that portray named teachers, friends or sponsors. In that context, André Salmon is an extremely rare large oil painting portrait from the 1930s.

André Salmon was an influential poet, novelist and art critic in French art and cultural circles who published 22 poetry collections during his lifetime and received the Grand Prix de Poésie from Académie Française. He was also an important member of the Cubist art movement and wrote extensively supporting the work of such renowned artists as Picasso and Modigliani. In addition, Picasso, Moïse Kisling and others also painted portraits of Salmon, an indication of the lofty position he led in the French art and cultural world at that time.

In 1939, Yun Gee produced two paintings in which André Salmon was the main subject, but the other piece has long since been lost, so the auctioned work is the only one known to exist. This painting offers viewers an intriguing crystallization of the artist's expressiveness on the eve of his creation of diamondism. Moreover, his rich attention to detail combined with the features of landscape painting showcase poetry infused with Eastern freehand style that also echoes Salmon's status as a renowned poet.

Painting Essence, Inner Spiritual Tension

Yun first met André Salmon in 1927 and their shared love of poetry and art ensured they soon became good friends. Indeed, Salmon sponsored Yun Gee's solo exhibition at Galerie Carmine in 1927, a reflection of his love for up and coming talent. Moreover, when Yun returned to Paris in 1936, it was Salmon who provided financial assistance to hold a solo exhibition at Galerie à la Reine Margot in Paris and wrote multiple articles recommending the artistic talent of Yun Gee.

In 1939, Yun Gee used this work to express his respect for and close friendship with Salmon. He also used the personalized depiction of details mixed with poetic brush work to precisely capture the distinguishing features of his subject. He portrayed the jaw of the figure as long and thin, with eyebrows arched upwards and eyes burning like torches and full of wisdom that look straight back at the viewer. Oftentimes, when Yun painted portraits of friends he used the details to showcase the character of the person and their likes. However, in this work he did not simply resort to the presentation of a manuscript, writing brush or other direct methods to allude to Salmon's status as a member of the literati. Instead, he employed exaggerated brushwork to magnify the size of the subject's fingers, as if hinting at the rivers and mountains at the tip of the poet's pen, highlighting the romantic charm of André Salmon's self-confident wisdom.

Rare Painting within a Painting: Splendid Brushwork, Poetry to Move the Soul

In the background to the left of André Salmon we can see a rare example of a painting, making this one of only five works by Yun Gee that contain a painting within a painting. Indeed, Yun used this form almost as a footnote to the figure of Salmon to convey the intertextuality and create a scene imbued with poetry and surrealism, as if the background painting is born from the imagination of the poet. In it, the powerful body of a male figure appears to lunge forward as he gazes at a brilliant rising red sun, and a sailboat sets sail, displaying the spirit of uprising sun and heading forward in the power of nature. This also serves as an allusion to the life journey of André Salmon and his tireless pursuit of “truth” and “beauty.”

In the 1930s Paris Surrealism was all the rage and Yun Gee was very much interested in Sigmund Freud's theories of dream interpretation and psychoanalysis. As such, the dreamlike quality of the painting is akin to the subconscious of the poet and provides a point for accessing his thoughts and spirit. This approach also echoes Yun Gee's diamondism theory in as much it takes the physical interplay of colour, light and form to adjust rational thought and psychological perception. In the “painting within a painting” Yun employed a structure comprised of multiple small triangular coloured bocks, with light green, brown-yellow, and orange-red colours used to create a moving sunset scene, while the brilliant light that falls on trees, people, the sailboat and face of the main protagonist contain vibrant changes in shade. In this scene, the bending tree trunk that breaks up the painting and is rich in tension is reminiscent of the leaning pine tree in Cezanne's Mont Sainte-Victoire. In contrast, as the main figure in the foreground Salmon appears shrouded in radiance and the diamond-like oblique sunlight reflects the eternal nature of wisdom. This work vividly brings to life a soul in which poetry resides, while showcasing Yun Gee's true understanding of his friend as well as the artist's own deep artistic thinking and a deeply moving aesthetic tension.

Price estimate:
HKD: 3,000,000 - 5,000,000
USD: 382,200 - 636,900

Auction Result:
HKD: 3,600,000