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Lot Essay
The scope of figurative art is vast and boundless.
It may extend into the realm of poetry
to extract the latter’s dynamic essence.
It may extend into the realms of music, dance and chant
to imbue itself with their vigor, momentum and emotions.
It may extend into the flame
to explore the nature of indomitable heat and strength.
It may surge and churn with the waves
to seek the form of gentle grace and alluring charm.
— Wu Dayu
A pioneer of early Chinese modernism, Wu Dayu turned to the phenomena of the cosmos as his source of creative force, dancing freely between the figurative and the abstract as he unleashed onto the canvas his one-of-a kind spiritual landscape. With many of his early works lost to turbulent times, according to the records of the National Museum of History in Taipei and The Complete Works of Wu Dayu published by People's Fine Arts Publishing House, only about 150 oil paintings by the artist have been found today. Such rarity further enhances the preciousness of his works. Presented for the first time in auction, Rhymes of Beijing Opera captures the rhythm and grace of Peking Opera through the use of dynamic lines, bold brushstrokes and a spatial composition that are at once charged with tension and momentum. The painting was acquired directly from the artist by Lin & Keng Gallery in Taiwan and was exhibited in the National Museum of History in Taipei and featured in many major art publications.
In 1922, Wu became one of the first batch of Chinese artists to travel to France to study and work under the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement initiated by the government of Republican China. During his time in Paris, he actively acquired the artistic vocabulary of the Western avant-garde through working in the studios of master sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and Cubist pioneer Georges Braque. Bourdelle, a disciple of Rodin, not only inherited his teacher’s profound sensitivity to form and raw emotional power, but also created a new language for modern sculpture with an emphasis on its architectural quality. In addition to Wu, Giacometti and Matisse were also part of a constellation of brilliant talents mentored by Bourdelle, whose acute sense of structure, formal rhythm, and spiritual depth had a far-reaching influence on his students. It was in Bourdelle and Braque's studios where Wu discovered the deconstructive vision of Cubism, and learned to channel his energy through lines, use colour patch arrangements to create rhythms, and master the logic of form constructions. The evolution of Chinese characters — its transformation from the earliest pictographs to the simplified character symbols that we use today — can also be understood through the lens of Cubist deconstructivism. After his return to China in 1927 Wu, together with Lin Fengmian, taught at the National Hangzhou Art College (the predecessor of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou), nurturing a future generation of artists that included Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun, and Wu Guanzhong. Merging the artistic vocabulary of Western modernism into his Chinese art teaching, Wu played an instrumental role in not only laying the foundation of modern Chinese art, but also fostering a cross-cultural dialogue between Chinese and Western modernism.
In as early as the 1940s, Wu pioneered the groundbreaking theory of 'shixiang,' or dynamic expressionism, setting a major milestone for the development of Chinese abstract oil painting by integrating his learnings from the West with the concepts of Chinese philosophy, calligraphy, and painting. The artist presented the distilled essence of his subject matter by injecting 'shi' (force and momentum) into forms, replacing figurative depictions with rhythmic, powerful calligraphic brushstrokes. This idea of channeling one’s innate energy onto the canvas through dynamic brushworks resonates with the approach of Xu Wei, a master painter, calligrapher and poet of the Ming Dynasty. Xu shattered the boundaries of conventional Chinese calligraphy and painting by using the techniques of formlessness and ‘broken colour’ to project one’s inner world onto the painting surface. Applying Xu’s approach to oil painting, Wu turned abstraction into a form of “modern imagery” that embodies emotion, rhythm, and life force.
The unpainted spots on Wu’s canvas are not blank spaces, but rather, 'breaths of air' sustained by the momentum of his broken yet connected strokes, inviting viewers to complete the “incomplete” imagery in their mind. His compositions exude both the fluid vitality of Xu Wei's works and the structural strength of architectural frameworks. For Wu, Chinese calligraphy evokes a sense of temporal flow, which, when weaved together with the deconstructed forms and space in Cubism, gave rise to a unique artistic language that transcends both Eastern and Western aesthetics. As Laozi said: 'The Way as a thing is only vague and indistinct. Yet within the vague, there is form; within the indistinct, there is substance.' When situated in the context of international art history, Wu’s theory of 'shixiang' draws a parallel with the Abstract Expressionism heralded by his contemporary Western artist peers including Pollock, Rothko, and de Kooning around the same time period.
Even though his abstractive style was not widely understood or appreciated at the time, Wu persisted with his practice. Not being accepted by the mainstream, he relocated his studio to a cramped attic, where he continued to develop his style by producing small-scale paintings which he often quietly stored away in his drawers. Rhymes of Beijing Opera was born during this challenging period for the artist.
Having been immersed in Chinese artistic traditions since his childhood, Wu Dayu's works often reveal his deep cultural root. The various shades of blue in Rhymes of Beijing Opera echo one of the classic colours used in Peking Opera face paint that symbolises fortitude, valor, defiance and strategic composure — traits commonly found in military general and civil official characters in Chinese opera such as Dou Erdun and Zhao Yun. The intertwining lines and layered colors in the painting allude to the vigorous movements of opera performers on the stage, capturing the tension, drama and the rhythm of life that lie somewhere between motion and stillness. As if compressing the past and the present into one single frame, the masterpiece challenges the viewers’ sensory perceptions, transporting them directly to the Beijing Opera theatre. By turning traditional motifs into a modern abstract vocabulary, Wu created a unique artistic style that is both deeply rooted in his cultural heritage and pioneering in its vision for modern Chinese art.
It may extend into the realm of poetry
to extract the latter’s dynamic essence.
It may extend into the realms of music, dance and chant
to imbue itself with their vigor, momentum and emotions.
It may extend into the flame
to explore the nature of indomitable heat and strength.
It may surge and churn with the waves
to seek the form of gentle grace and alluring charm.
— Wu Dayu
A pioneer of early Chinese modernism, Wu Dayu turned to the phenomena of the cosmos as his source of creative force, dancing freely between the figurative and the abstract as he unleashed onto the canvas his one-of-a kind spiritual landscape. With many of his early works lost to turbulent times, according to the records of the National Museum of History in Taipei and The Complete Works of Wu Dayu published by People's Fine Arts Publishing House, only about 150 oil paintings by the artist have been found today. Such rarity further enhances the preciousness of his works. Presented for the first time in auction, Rhymes of Beijing Opera captures the rhythm and grace of Peking Opera through the use of dynamic lines, bold brushstrokes and a spatial composition that are at once charged with tension and momentum. The painting was acquired directly from the artist by Lin & Keng Gallery in Taiwan and was exhibited in the National Museum of History in Taipei and featured in many major art publications.
In 1922, Wu became one of the first batch of Chinese artists to travel to France to study and work under the Diligent Work-Frugal Study Movement initiated by the government of Republican China. During his time in Paris, he actively acquired the artistic vocabulary of the Western avant-garde through working in the studios of master sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and Cubist pioneer Georges Braque. Bourdelle, a disciple of Rodin, not only inherited his teacher’s profound sensitivity to form and raw emotional power, but also created a new language for modern sculpture with an emphasis on its architectural quality. In addition to Wu, Giacometti and Matisse were also part of a constellation of brilliant talents mentored by Bourdelle, whose acute sense of structure, formal rhythm, and spiritual depth had a far-reaching influence on his students. It was in Bourdelle and Braque's studios where Wu discovered the deconstructive vision of Cubism, and learned to channel his energy through lines, use colour patch arrangements to create rhythms, and master the logic of form constructions. The evolution of Chinese characters — its transformation from the earliest pictographs to the simplified character symbols that we use today — can also be understood through the lens of Cubist deconstructivism. After his return to China in 1927 Wu, together with Lin Fengmian, taught at the National Hangzhou Art College (the predecessor of the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou), nurturing a future generation of artists that included Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun, and Wu Guanzhong. Merging the artistic vocabulary of Western modernism into his Chinese art teaching, Wu played an instrumental role in not only laying the foundation of modern Chinese art, but also fostering a cross-cultural dialogue between Chinese and Western modernism.
In as early as the 1940s, Wu pioneered the groundbreaking theory of 'shixiang,' or dynamic expressionism, setting a major milestone for the development of Chinese abstract oil painting by integrating his learnings from the West with the concepts of Chinese philosophy, calligraphy, and painting. The artist presented the distilled essence of his subject matter by injecting 'shi' (force and momentum) into forms, replacing figurative depictions with rhythmic, powerful calligraphic brushstrokes. This idea of channeling one’s innate energy onto the canvas through dynamic brushworks resonates with the approach of Xu Wei, a master painter, calligrapher and poet of the Ming Dynasty. Xu shattered the boundaries of conventional Chinese calligraphy and painting by using the techniques of formlessness and ‘broken colour’ to project one’s inner world onto the painting surface. Applying Xu’s approach to oil painting, Wu turned abstraction into a form of “modern imagery” that embodies emotion, rhythm, and life force.
The unpainted spots on Wu’s canvas are not blank spaces, but rather, 'breaths of air' sustained by the momentum of his broken yet connected strokes, inviting viewers to complete the “incomplete” imagery in their mind. His compositions exude both the fluid vitality of Xu Wei's works and the structural strength of architectural frameworks. For Wu, Chinese calligraphy evokes a sense of temporal flow, which, when weaved together with the deconstructed forms and space in Cubism, gave rise to a unique artistic language that transcends both Eastern and Western aesthetics. As Laozi said: 'The Way as a thing is only vague and indistinct. Yet within the vague, there is form; within the indistinct, there is substance.' When situated in the context of international art history, Wu’s theory of 'shixiang' draws a parallel with the Abstract Expressionism heralded by his contemporary Western artist peers including Pollock, Rothko, and de Kooning around the same time period.
Even though his abstractive style was not widely understood or appreciated at the time, Wu persisted with his practice. Not being accepted by the mainstream, he relocated his studio to a cramped attic, where he continued to develop his style by producing small-scale paintings which he often quietly stored away in his drawers. Rhymes of Beijing Opera was born during this challenging period for the artist.
Having been immersed in Chinese artistic traditions since his childhood, Wu Dayu's works often reveal his deep cultural root. The various shades of blue in Rhymes of Beijing Opera echo one of the classic colours used in Peking Opera face paint that symbolises fortitude, valor, defiance and strategic composure — traits commonly found in military general and civil official characters in Chinese opera such as Dou Erdun and Zhao Yun. The intertwining lines and layered colors in the painting allude to the vigorous movements of opera performers on the stage, capturing the tension, drama and the rhythm of life that lie somewhere between motion and stillness. As if compressing the past and the present into one single frame, the masterpiece challenges the viewers’ sensory perceptions, transporting them directly to the Beijing Opera theatre. By turning traditional motifs into a modern abstract vocabulary, Wu created a unique artistic style that is both deeply rooted in his cultural heritage and pioneering in its vision for modern Chinese art.