Oil on board

38 x 53.5 cm. 15 x 21 in.

Dated and signed in Chinese on bottom left

LITERATURE
1991, Wan Jinsheng: Collection of Paintings & Articles, Liaoning Fine Arts Publishing House, Liaoning, p.18 - 19
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by present Asian collector from the artist

Heart of a Northeasterner
The Trailblazer of the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts — Wan Jinsheng

Wan Jinsheng was the first head of Oil Painting Department of Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts. On one hand, via his personal oil painting style, he conveyed his creative concepts of focusing on color and composition, thus creating the Northern School of Painting. On the other hand, he formulated the academy's teaching guidelines and cultivated many fine artists in Northeast China. All of those who studied in the Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts (starting with Song Huimin, Zhao Dajun, Wei Ershen, and Gong Lilong in the 1960s and 70s and later including Zhao Dajun's own students, such as Qin Qi, Wang Xingwei, and Jia Aili) inherited the unique artistic form being taught there, putting the academy at as a great chapter in the great chapter of Chinese art history.

When Wan Jinsheng traveled to the old town of Xiongyue in 1980, he learned that most of the existing architecture was to be torn down and replaced with new buildings. His feelings led him to paint Xiongyue Cityscape. The work conveys a spatial sense of three-dimensionality due to its precise composition, and its accurate color palette reflects Northeasterners' spirit in the artist's memory. Wan uses skillful brushwork to carefully apply hues such as dark greens and browns, purples, reddish browns, and azures. The brick chimneys covered with snow look rustic and life-like, a firm display of the artist's feelings toward the old city. In terms of composition, an old street serves as the central axis, with pedestrians strolling along it and houses located on both sides, forming an orderly, humanmade landscape. The artist utilized a bird's-eye view perspective to contrast the natural landscape of Wang'er Mountain in the distance with the culturally rich old town, recreating the scenery and culture of the Xiongyue of the 1980s. This work expresses Wan's nostalgia for the old days of his hometown in the context of China's rapid development.

Price estimate:
HKD: 80,000 – 150,000
USD: 10,200 – 19,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 94,400