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Lot Essay
(US$103,200-129,000)
Xu Beihong was trained in traditional Chinese ink paintings before he set out for Paris and Berlin in 1920. The Three Riders is one of his few works in oil. The painting is a scene from the legent written by Du Guangting of the Tang Dynasty about three swordsmen fleeing their master in search of freedom, eventually finding meritocracy under the Tang Emperor Li Shimin. The painting was given to General Chen Mingshu(1889-1965) in Hong Kong in 1935. General Chen was an elite soldier of his time, taking many very important governmental posts in his career. Eventually, General Chen chose to ignore Jiang Jieshi's policy of appeasement towards the Japanese invasion of China, and broke from the Guomindang. In 1933, General Chen was forced to flee the mainland when under attach from Jiang, and came to Hong Kong. Xu Beihong had painted a portrait of the General in 1928, and this second piece was painted for Chen, appropriately reflecting the General's own political plight in China. Both paintings have remained in the Chen family until now.
Xu Beihong was trained in traditional Chinese ink paintings before he set out for Paris and Berlin in 1920. The Three Riders is one of his few works in oil. The painting is a scene from the legent written by Du Guangting of the Tang Dynasty about three swordsmen fleeing their master in search of freedom, eventually finding meritocracy under the Tang Emperor Li Shimin. The painting was given to General Chen Mingshu(1889-1965) in Hong Kong in 1935. General Chen was an elite soldier of his time, taking many very important governmental posts in his career. Eventually, General Chen chose to ignore Jiang Jieshi's policy of appeasement towards the Japanese invasion of China, and broke from the Guomindang. In 1933, General Chen was forced to flee the mainland when under attach from Jiang, and came to Hong Kong. Xu Beihong had painted a portrait of the General in 1928, and this second piece was painted for Chen, appropriately reflecting the General's own political plight in China. Both paintings have remained in the Chen family until now.