Ink and color on paper

70×67 cm 27 1/2×26 3/8 in

Signed in Chinese on bottom left
PROVENANCE
Collection of Ms. Dino Therese Markowitz， daughter of Lin Fengmian
Nov 1999， Christie’s Taipei Auction， Lot 10
Important private collection， Asia

As the master of Chinese modern art， Lin Fengmian is dedicated to the innovation of Chinese paintings with his career. He integrates the western and Chinese painting techniques， to fulfill the mission of inventing a novel art form for the generation. By importing western modern art expression to China， Lin emphasizes on recreation from the domestic and the west， to form a national characteristic painting style and language， which opens up a new way for Chinese paintings. In the early 20th century， China suffered from political instability， foreign powers invasion and ceaseless civil wars. Despite these tragedies and hurdles from the intense situation and his personal life， Lin never lost faith in his diligence to practice and improve his art， and became a distinct role model as an artist. In the Chinese modern art history， Li takes an impregnable position. It is even assumed that the future art history would be compiled as “the pre-Lin Fengmian Chinese paintings” and “post-Lin Fengmian Chinese paintings”， which features Lin’s symbolic and epoch-making significance.
Rise to the Creative Zenith：
the Inauguration of Peking Opera Series
In earlier 1950s， Lin Fengmian left his position at art academy before migrating to Shanghai where he spent the life as a semi-hermit. The consecutive 25 years witnesses his full devotion into art creation， which generates the most proliferate achievements in his artistic creation. The profound Shanghainese culture nurtured his creation， as an example， Lin went to see Peking opera very often in spare time， getting inspired from the traditional fork arts. The year 1949 is a dividing line for the old and novel opera. It is the old style that exhilarated him the most. The artist mentioned that “Recently in Shanghai， I got the chance to see opera performances. Shaoxing opera has been innovated a lot. I am personally in favor of the old style. It comes up with many themes， which I am more familiar with. To narrate a story， the novel opera is played by scene， however， the old style is by session. It seems when playing by scene， it only exists the space， while time prolongs by session in an old style， where the inconsistence of time and space is easier to resolve. As Pablo Picasso arranges objects by folding them into a single dimension， I am inspired by the old opera instead， by overlaying the tales and characters onto the paper. My goal is not the figure’s sense of volume but their united consistence. The old opera possesses fresh and myriad colors and surprising actions too. I am fond of the genuine facial makeup… Adapted in this way， my style has been changed enormously！” Lin combines the insights from the old opera with the essence and divisive construction of the western cubism， to produce the wildly beloved body of works “Opera Series”. The work on sale “Hegemony Among Opera Figures” is one of the representatives to showcase the flowing of time in the artist’s composition， handling with lights， choice of colors， and the adjustment of space in two dimension. It also serves to epitomize the breakthroughs and concrete achievements of Lin’s assimilation of Chinese and western painting techniques.
Deconstruction and Remold
In the painting “Hegemony Among Opera Figures”， Lin Fengmian divorces from the traditional hanging scroll or hand scroll， opting for the square paper to hold the composition， in which the powerful and heavy ink lines mingle with bright and gaudy colors. The strokes are wielded in a lighting-strike speed with no hesitation， to construct an intense confrontation of the two military forces. Bodies of the figures are presented in the cubism way， by being simplified into basic geometric forms， yet retaining the Chinese national characteristics. The artist adopts the concise freehand brushwork to realize the complex body movements and abhorring facial expression of the figures， to vividly express the heroic emotion during the battlefield conquest.
With such conglomerate and sumptuous composition， we could observe the brave soldiers either wielding swords， bayonet fighting， or close combat and bow shooting. Set as the background， the equestrian army is arriving to join the combat. By skimming over the painting， the viewer would sense surely the excitement and intensity of the battlefield. As Xi Dejin described that “The eloquent brush strokes， moisturizing and loaded hues， the enlivened pep unexceptionally touch the viewer approaching to it， leaving unforgettable mark in their heart.” The elements are compound but different， paradoxical but consistent， perfectly perform the flowing time and movements on the two dimensional paper.” The creation breaks the bound of tradition and the blank-leaving advocated by the traditional Chinese painting， beyond the restriction of the five hues. Wielding his brush， Lin Fengmian creates another spectacular world， composing a critical chapter of the new era.
Attach feelings to brush，
be proud of lofty sentiments
Lin Fengmian’s life is a real cliffhanger. He used to serve as a revered director at the art academy. However， during the civil war and political struggles， he abandoned the position due to his literati temperament to become a simple artist and ordinary person. Perhaps， he may sigh and feel the loneliness that it is not his time. What he did is to indulge his feelings to ink and brush. Lin is also keen on opera， which brings him inspiration， the opera characters of loyalty， filial piety， chastity and righteousness， the clear demarcation of love and hatred， the principle that good is rewarded with good and evil with evil， have brought colors to his life. He instills the robust emotion under his brush. The work “Hegemony Among Opera Figures” unfolds the breadth of his boldness， and the enduring passion towards life and art. The picturesque scene also recollects Lin’s favorite poem “Songs of the General Sima” by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. It writes as “The star shooting in the north ignites the kaleidoscopic skyline. The valiant general campaigned to the south and stroke like the thunder rolling the heavy clouds. With a lighting charged heavenly sword in hand， he slaughtered the long whale and split the sea water. The general rose up to perform a long-sword dance. The warrior chanting shook the horizon.” Lin attaches his feelings to the brush， and creates spiritually powerful artworks， of elegant demeanor and memorable. This painting was in the old collection of Lin’s daughter Dino. Its current collector acquired it at the Christie’s auction sale in Taipei back to 1999. Being well conserved in the past 18 years， this work becomes available in the market this time， which must be a great expectation for Lin Fengmian’s followers.

Price estimate:
HKD: 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
USD: 514,800 – 772,200

Auction Result:
HKD: 7,625,000