Ink and colour on paper

69 × 137.5 cm. 27 1/8 × 54 1/8 in.

Signed in Chinese with an artist's seal on middle left
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by present important Asian collector Wong Lian Fon from Hong Kong Chung Kiu Chinese Products Emporium in the early 1980s

Wong Lian Fon's Perspective on The Greatest Chinese Painter of the 20th Century
Lin Fengmian's Truth, Goodness and Beauty
By Wong Lian Fon

I have loved art since I was a child. When I was a student, I admired Western impressionism, and when I was an adult, I loved making friends through art and literature circles. In 1978, I met Lin Fengmian through Lin's student Jin Dongfang and Wu Dirong, who was the executive secretary of Chung Kiu Chinese Products Emporium then. In 1977, Lin Fengmian moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong and lived in the attic above the Chung Kiu Department Store, where he continued to paint. At the time, Lin Fengmian was of very high stature, and was once the principal of Hangzhou Academy of Art. He was a legendary and virtuous artist, who achieved high achievements on the new path of combining Chinese and Western culture.

Beginning of The Collection: On A Journey to Find Happiness

When I first met Lin Fengmian, I had the opportunity to see more than a dozen of his works, ranging from landscapes, still life setups, women and flowers. Although Lin Fengmian uses rice paper as his material, he uses strong and bold colors from both traditional Chinese painting inks and advertising pigments. By combining Western impressionism, fauvism, and eastern Dunhuang frescoes, Han bricks, Song porcelain, paper-cutting, shadow puppetry and lacquerware, Lin's techniques and composition were bold and unique, creating a new style of self-creation, which surprised me. I still remember when the painting of a beautiful Pekin Opera Series was unforgettable and became my first collection of Lin Fengmian.

In the late 1970s, Lin Fengmian's doufang works were priced at HKD$8,000, where his 40 x 60 cm works were HKD 14,000 and his 68 x 68 cm works were priced at HKD 28,000, which were not cheap. I have collected more than 80 pieces of Lin Fengmian's works, and most of which were bought by overseas Chinese. Two of them were bought by Lin Fengmian's disciple Xi Suhua, and some were bought by Lin Fengmian when he held an exhibition at the Seibu Department Store in Tokyo, including his fine Peking Opera series titled ‘Burning Chibi'. I love Lin Fengmian's works and will not hesitate to share it with the others. I often lend the works to many art museum exhibitions, for example in 1986, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum held an exhibition titled ‘China. Paris: A Restrospective of Early French Painters'. For that exhibition, I lent nearly 40 works by Lin Fengmian.

Poetic and Majestic Paintings

When I was fortunate enough to interact with Lin Fengmian, I felt that he was a very humble and kind person with superb personality. In his early years, he was imprisoned because of the Cultural Revolution and we can only imagine the suffering he went through. However, during his life and his journey of creation, he never complained about others. Instead, he transformed the truth, goodness and beautification in his mind into pieces of work under his pen. The theme of his Peking Opera is magnificent with lightning-like strokes, with softness in the center. The theme of landscape is intended to be first, creative and then painted without any corrections. The color is bold, the lines are fluent and pure, capturing the lady in beauty and elegance. With fine lines, the artist expresses the quality of the human body, showing pure oriental charm, beauty, and clarity. The language of his pen reveals the artist's thoughts, such as his loneliness, determination, and freedom. The works on each theme are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and they speak like Wang Wei's state of ‘pictures in poems, and poems in paintings'.

A Model of Chinese Literati

Lin Fengmian was simple and honest, and never criticizes others. In the process of communication, I rarely saw him showing emotions, and he didn't talk too much. The only exception is that one time a Hangzhou Art College student Xi Dejin came to Hong Kong from Taiwan, I accompanied him to meet Lin. Since they were reuniting after a long time, both teacher and student were very emotional and happy. Lin has greatly inspired students in education and is immensely proud of them. In the process of discussing art with him, he mentioned: ‘The light, color, line and rhythm in Zao Wou-Ki's paintings are very powerful; There is a strong oriental spirit in Chu Teh-Chun's works'.

Talking on Lotus

In the process of collecting, I only accept top-quality works, and I must like it myself. I have four criteria when I select paintings: the artistic conception is sublime, the vigorous momentum of the painting, the outstanding composition, and the color is the finishing touch.'. This auction, ‘Lotus' meets all the above standards and was purchased in the early-1980s. The size of this Lotus is 137.5 cm wide, which is a rare and large painting by Lin Fengmian. The flowers in the painting are very energetic, and some are in bud whilst others are in full bloom. The lines of the flower stems and leaves are very powerful and imposing. Some mimic a baton, which can be light, heavy and fast. In the green waves, there is unlimited and high vitality, perfectly capturing the atmosphere and artistic conception. After my purchase, I displayed it in my living room for over 30 years. Now, after releasing it for the first time, I hope that the next collector will continue the joy of collecting and share their passion for Lin Fengmian's brilliance.

Note： Wong Lian Fon was born in Shanghai in 1934 and moved to Hong Kong in 1956. Born into well-cultured and educated family, he took the name ‘San Huai Tang'. Wong Lian Fon has been collecting works of Lin Fengmian since 1978, and has established himself as an important collector of Lin Fengmian, who is well-known at home and abroad. His collection of Lin Fengmian was exhibited in the ‘China Paris: Retrospective Exhibition of Early French Painters' at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum in 1986, and the ‘Lin Fengmian Works Exhibition' at the Hong Kong Art Center in 1992. This time, we would like to specially thank Mr. Wong Lian Fon for the interview and the honor to present his collection.

Eulogizing Nature, Poetry-like Paradise
Grand Debut of Lin Fengmian Masterpiece Lotus

The unique position held by Lin Fengmian in the history of Modern Chinese painting is widely acknowledged. Renowned British art historian Michael Sullivan has commented: “Although Xu Beihong established the painting foundation for a robust Western Academic School and Liu Haisu brought the Impressionist and Post Impressionist styles to China, Lin Fengmian made the greatest contribution. He opened the way for new painting in China, using richly expressive brushwork that combined a foundation based on traditional Chinese painting and calligraphy with an awareness of Western forms, colors and composition. Moreover, this free and natural integration was unique to Lin. Indeed, it was through his trial-blazing efforts that Chinese artists were able to use modern methods to express completely Chinese feelings, thereby liberating them from the impact of Western artistic ideas. He is the true pioneer of modern Chinese painting.” Lin Fengmian worked diligently his whole life and through his work set as an example for others as he set about writing his own history and influence.

Lin's paintings can be broadly divided into several chronological periods, his time in France, teaching at two major art colleges on returning to China, followed by periods in Chongqing, Hangzhou, Shanghai and Hong Kong. In each period the artist achieved something different, but after the turmoil of war in the 1930s and later the Cultural Revolution, Lin lived alone and in relative hardship. However, in 1978 he moved to Hong Kong and as art historian Liang Shao-chun has noted: “At this time, Lin Fengmian was already in his 80s, lived a quiet life and rarely met with visitors. However, because his goddaughter Feng Ye took care of him, including matters relating to exhibitions and selling paintings, this period was also the most comfortable and free Lin had been for decades, as a result of which he was able to focus on painting and produced numerous works many of which were collected.” Lin Fengmian's life in Hong Kong was simple and quiet, enabling him to paint without any distractions. In addition, his economic situation also improved, leading to another creative peak, with a steady stream of invitations to hold exhibitions at home and abroad. For example, in 1979, the artist held solo exhibitions at the Shanghai Artists Association, and the Musée Cernuschi in Paris. In 1989, he held a major retrospective at the National Museum of History in Taipei and his international reputation as an artist reached its high point. It was against this backdrop of comfort, freedom, high reputation and fame in the 1980s that Lin painted Lotus.

A Rare Large Masterpiece of Clear Provenance

If we review the paintings Lin Fengmian produced during his artistic career then with the exception of Egrets which he painted in the 1930s and is currently part of the collection of the Guangzhou Museum of Art, and rare Flying to Heaven which he made in Dunhuang in the 1950s, the majority of his paintings are almost perfectly square (68x68cm or 37x40cm), with very few large pieces. However, what is particularly interesting is that it was not until the last decade of his life in Hong Kong that Lin chose to pour out his feelings and say what was on his mind through his art. by starting making a series of 130cm and 150cm horizontal xuan paper paintings, research indicates that there were no more than 53 of these large paintings. One of these was Lotus, which was also the largest of six (69cm x 137.5cm) with a lotus flower motif. In the 1980s, the painting became part of the collection of renowned Hong Kong art collector Wang Lian Fon and was hung in the living room of his home, an indication of how much he cherished it. During his lifetime Wang collected around 80 paintings by Lin Fengmian and the two men became friends. Indeed, Wang later lent his collection to the Shanghai Art Museum, Hong Kong Arts Center and Taipei Fine Arts Museum, for exhibitions that received widespread acclaim. As this is the first time Lotus has been auctioned it is a treasure those in the know will not want to miss.

Boundless Vitality of Lotus Flowers, Final Declaration in a War for Art

“Today Lin Fengmian was still every bit the radiant art master and those who get close to them cannot fail to be moved by his exciting ink paintings, those eloquent and persuasive bush strokes, the sleek and sumptuous colors, the vital life energy. No one can tell but the mind of this soon-to-be octogenarian bubbles with the hot blood of a young man or that he wants to spread his wings and soar, to continue moving forward on his mission to create innovative modern Chinese painting.”

— Shiy De-Jinn (“A meeting with Lin Fengmian in Hong Kong”, 1979)

In contrast to the widespread use of heavy ink combined with some depressive tones in landscape scenery paintings at that time, Lotus showcases a refreshing summer flavor. The painting uses minimal green and white as its main tones, while utilizing a rich array of changes within adjacent colors, from yellow-green, emerald green, blue-green and cyan to thick ink-green. This not only runs counter to the light use of color in traditional Chinese painting, it also highlights Lin's sublime use of color. The yellow-green flower stalks stand gracefully erect as they grow ever upwards, and the 24 lotus flowers Lin depicts in white are akin to graceful women. Some of the flowers are budding while others are in full bloom, but through their careful arrangement, the artist draws attention to the moving beauty of life from birth to full bloom. The work also brings to mind the way in which Cao Zhi extols lotus flowers in his poem: “All things bloom then grow fruit, only lotuses do so simultaneously. The hundred links of the lotus root with its decorative holes, the upright and beautiful flowers growing pure and untainted from the mud, make this the nobleman of flora.” At the same time, this also highlights the spotless elegance and overflowing beauty of lotus flower sentimentality. Indeed, the scene depicted is reminiscent of the words of Lang Shao-chun on lotus flowers: “surging into the dreamland of nature, where they craft a dreamscape of beauty and goodness.” It is both intoxicating and echoes the comfortable and free nature of Lin Fengmian's life when he painted this work, thereby imbuing the painting with greater meaning.

Shiy De-Jinn, a proud student of Lin Fengmian, points out: “Hangzhou Academy of Art was located next to Gushan Mountain in the middle of the West Lake and diagonically opposite from ‘Autumn Moon on the Calm Lake,' one of the main sights in the area. Behind that was the Inner ‘West Lake,' which filled with towering lotus flowers during the summer months. Lin Fengmian lived in Hangzhou for many years and yet never once painted west lake, it was only after leaving the West Lake that he started to miss it.” In this context, Lotus is clearly a reflection of Lin's nostalgia for his homeland, the West Lake and youth. It was only in his 80s that the artist decided to express these powerful feelings through his painting. The work also demonstrates the way in which Lin still wanted to fight for art, a cause to which he dedicated his entire life. In this way, Lin Fengmian learned from the spirit of his stonemason grandfather when carving stone, he painted to speak his own truth, while committing his understanding of life and eulogy for the wonders of that life to eternity.

Price estimate:
HKD: 2,500,000 - 4,500,000
USD: 321,200 - 578,100

Auction Result:
HKD: 11,850,000