Oil on canvas

50×50 cm 19 5/8×19 5/8 in

Signed in Chinese on bottom right
PROVENANCE
Collection of Guangzhou prominent Doctor Yin Xiu Lian

“Life brings me new inspirations. I pass spirituality on to life. It is a must to seek new methods of expression that are needed by people and by the time. It is also an inevitable development of history. Art loses its vitality if it doesn’t acquire change and innovation. The time is limitless as well as art is.”
—— Guan Liang

Thence by descent to the private Asian collectorIn the art history of 20th century， Guan Liang is an unforgetable figure. In 1917， he went to study in Japan and pursued his artistic apprenticeship in Kawabata Academy of Painting and Taiheiyo Art Association. Under the instructions of Fujishima Takeji and Nakamura Fusetsu， both specialized in post-impressionism， he developed a solid basis in western painting techniques. Nakamura also had well-rounded research into Chinese ink paintings. Therefore， Guan Liang established his own knowledge towards western modernism， into which he tried to integrate the characteristics of Chinese people as well as his own personal feelings. When he returned to China in 1922， he dedicated himself to education， being a teacher in Shanghai Shenzhou Girls’ School and Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. He also had a close connection with the artist Chen Baoyi， and the two often organized and held exhibitions together. The landscapes and still lives of Guan Liang are vivid in shape， and his strokes are bold and free with bright colors. He observed the world with plain curiosity and expressed with unique particularity， which came as a fresh breeze to the conservative Chinese art scene at the time. In this way， Guan gradually became an important pioneer of Chinese modern art.
Guan’s artistic creation mainly features landscape and still life. Flowers and Fruits is one of the representative pieces. On the rectangular canvas， the artist employed forthright wide strokes to shape the delicacies and blooms on the table. His outlines are fluid and free， without any lagging. The spatiality was made through such fluidity and swiftness. As for the still life， he did not completely follow the mathematical perspectives of figures but simplifies and purifies the plasticity through plain and explicit strokes. Therefore， the essence is registered while being subtly transformed. The work thus shows austere delight and straightforward beauty. It seems unconscious and wild on the outside but well-managed on the inside. One can look in detail the grapes on the foreground， the weight and volume of the fruits are clearly shown as well as the spatial relations among them. The piece is delicate within wildness， refined within freedom， macroscopic and microscopic at the same time. As for the color， Guan Liang makes use of many contrastive hues to increase the vivid tension. For example， the blue in the foreground is contrasted by the yellow of fruits； the red of flowers is contrasted by the green of leaves； the red apples are contrasted by the green lemons. In the middle ground， he makes use of a few simple strokes to demonstrate the pride of blooming flowers， which is a proof of Guan Liang’s solid techniques. The renowned art critic Jin Ye said： “Guan Liang employed in his creative works some unique methods that no one else had ever exploited. He took advantage of some excellent Chinese painting theories in his oil paintings， so his art pieces are simple in plasticity， bright in color， strong in strokes， and full of spirituality. With obvious Chinese features， they are different from European paintings. Chinese painting has its own tradition in figuring objects： the body and the soul are both required， the body must reveal the soul and the soul must be manifest.” Guan’s paintings are truly impressive to audiences’ eyes.
Flowers and Fruits has a clear origin. It comes from the famous Cantonese doctor Yin Xiulian’s collection. Madam Yin accidentally knew Guan Liang in Japan in her earlier years， and she appreciated his audacious and ingenious works. Yin maintained contact with the artist after returning to China and bought several works from him. During the Cultural Revolution， she was worried about unexpected trouble with her collection and hid them in the basement of her parents’ rural house. After her passing away， her descendants found this piece together with three other paintings of Guan Liang： Still Life with Fish， Tangseng and Wukong， Zhong Kui. Three items has been auctioned in Sotheby’s Hong Kong， sold respectively at HKD 3.16 million （Still Life with Fish） and HKD 3.2 million（the other works）. The appearance of Flowers and Fruits in the auction house is worth the attention of collectors.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
USD: 141,000 – 193,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 3,658,000