Nihonga on silk

24.5×33.5 cm. 9 5/8×13 1/4 in

Dated and Signed in English on reverse of each piece
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Asia

Climbing Magpies, Fruitful Joy
In Chinese painting history, Nihonga occupies an important position. It originated from Jinbi Shanshui （gold-blue-green landscape painting） in Tang and Song dynasties and passed through many places to Japan, developing into a branch of Japanese-style painting. After studying abroad in Japan, a largish group of Taiwanese artists inherited the Nihonga concept and techniques, opening a new chapter for it in modern painting history. Among them is Lin Chih-Chu, one of the representatives of Nihonga artist. Putting all his heart and soul for the inheritance of Nihonga, he has made a significant contribution to the progress of Taiwanese painting history.
Born in a prominent family in Taichung county, Lin Chih-Chu went to study in Japan at twelve years old. Influenced by his elder brother, Lin Bo-Shou, who was studying painting at that time, he entered the then Imperial Fine Arts School （Musashino Art University） as his brother did. Among a galaxy of talents there, we can find names of the greatest artists such as Hung Jui-Ling, Zhang Yixiong, and Fu Boashi. After graduation, Lin Chih-Chu went to study from Kodama Kibon and improved his skills by leaps and bounds. He followed the then popular Neoclassicism in Japan, gaining an elegant and poetical temperament in his work. While the graceful luster of Nihonga gently breezed into the art world, it also breezed into the soul of Lin Chih-Chu’s art world. Intelligent by natural endowments, he was selected into the prestigious Imperial Fine Arts Academy in Japan at the age of twenty-four. After the outbreak of the Pacific War, Lin Chih-Chu returned to Taiwan to continue his artistic career. Soon, he acquired the first prize consecutively in the 5th and 6th Taiwan Art Exhibition, standing out conspicuously at a young age. Later on, he landed himself in Taichung Normal University as a teacher and established the Taiwan Glue-Pigment Painting Association, devoting his whole life to the development of Nihonga in Taiwan and the cultivation of young talents.
The work, Joyful Magpies, is the most representative bird-and-flower painting of Lin Chih-Chu. He’s keen on depicting persimmons for the fruit represents a satisfactory result in traditional Chinese culture. In the work, three ripe and plump persimmons hang from the branches, adorning the deep blue sky of late autumn and casting beautiful reflections with birds in pairs. The faintly discernible air spread across the image, leaving a misty scene with a poetic sentiment. Furthermore, the head-raising posture of the birds and their longing for spring is the portrayal of the artist himself – no matter what happened in this age of rapid change, he still held the love for life and praise for the simplicity and charm of idyllic life. Lin Chih-Chu placed his feelings on birds, flowers, and landscapes from hometown, immersing himself in an exquisite and refined art world for the whole life.

Price estimate:
HKD: 90, 000 - 150, 000
USD: 11, 500 - 19, 200

Auction Result:
HKD: --