Oil on canvas

46 × 61 cm. 18 1/8 x 24 in.

Signed in Chinese on bottom left; titled, signed in Chinese, and dated on the reverse
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by present Asian collector from the artist

The Sounds of Nature and the Voices of Life
In the history of 20th-century Chinese art, Ai Zhongxin has always advocated innovative artistic and educational concepts. As a pioneer of Chinese realist oil paintings, he was known for his landscapes, which are very characteristic of the times. Li Keran praised him as being one of China’s most outstanding oil painters, and along with Jin Shangyi and others, Ai became one of the representative figures of the second 20th-century generation of such painters.
In his artistic practice, Ai Zhongxin paid great attention to creating sketches of natural scenes as he witnessed them. He had a keen sense of light and thus was able to capture the most visually appealing part of the scene and portray it in his works. This infused his works with a Barbizon style of artistic realism. In addition, he was adept at integrating people and events of a specific era into the landscape, forming a historical narrative and revealing a deep sense of historical norms.
The work currently being auctioned, Fishing Village, was created in 1962. It is one of Ai Zhongxin’s most illustrious landscapes of the 1960s. Unlike most artists, he does not exhibit a vast expanse of endless waters, but instead ingeniously focuses the viewer’s attention on a strip of coastal land in which workers have lived and placed their faith for generations, reproducing seaside life with a strong regional features. The painter uses a long-range perspective to portray the majestic appearance of the yellow beach. At the bottom right, workers take a short break from their work, setting off the grand scene depicted in the painting. The dark-colored fishing net on the beach adds richness to the colors in the foreground and echoes the fishing boat in the midground and the mountains and houses in the background. Ai Zhongxin uses limited paint and space to create a spectacular beachfront view, the work containing a distinct humanistic flavor, reminiscent of the rural labor scenes depicted by English artist John Miller.

Price estimate:
HKD: 200,000 - 300,000
USD: 25,600 - 38,500

Auction Result:
HKD: --