細節
余本
越秀山遠眺
油彩 木板
1958年作
簽名:余本

來源
藝術家家屬收藏

展覽

出版
1997年《余本》敦煌藝術中心 台北 台灣 (圖版,第81頁)

余本為香港五十年代最傑出的畫家之一,其作品對早期香港藝術發展殊有深厚的影響。余氏早於1918年遠越重洋赴加拿大謀生求學,1928年考進溫尼佩格藝術學院(Winnipeg School of Art),開始接受正規的藝術訓練,師從名畫家L.L. Fitzgerald。1929年轉入多倫多安大略省立藝術學院(Ontario College of Art),跟隨加拿大名畫家J.E.H MacDonald、J.W Beaty及Frank Johnson習畫。1932年,余本作品已於海外獲得認同,並成為首位華人藝術家擠身加拿大渥太華美術館(National Art Gallery, Ottawa) 。及至1935年,余本回國,並定居香港,設立畫室繼續創作,同時授徒,致力推動香港的西洋畫發展。30-40年代的香港只是一個小小的漁港,文化藝術相對落後,藝術的發展並不容易,余本在物質貧乏的環境下,仍能堅持差不多每年舉辦畫展,創作力驚人。1937年徐悲鴻來到香港,參觀了余本的畫展和畫室,讚嘆說:「我以為油畫在中國是處女地,尤其是南方,想不到香港竟然有兩位出色的油畫家:一位是李鐵夫,一位是余本。」余本一生60年的油畫創作,以1956年從香港回歸廣州為分界,可以劃分為「香港時期」(1935-1956)及「中國時期」。本次日間拍賣共6件余本作品,乃香港時期及廣州時期的珍貴作品,包含人物、風景、靜物三部份,題材獨特,是研究余本藝術的重要材料,極具歷史價值。

1956年,余本受邀參觀北京等地,親眼看見祖國的新建設和繁榮的發展,於是便舉家從香港回到廣東,希望以藝術貢獻國家。余本在中國新社會的變遷下,全心投入油畫創作,力圖探索出一種富時代感,而又蘊涵東方風格的油畫藝術。他曾說:「我時常在想,中國人學習西洋藝術,總應該跟自己民族的東西結合起來,對自己的民族的藝術應有更多的了解。」為此,余本作過許多嘗試,也拿起過毛筆在宣紙上畫中國水墨畫。這樣做,他並非想成為一個國畫家,而是希望能更好去借鏡傳統山水畫的技法,在油畫人民族化邁向自己的步伐。作於1958年的《越秀山遠眺》(Lot 1155)體現了藝術家把自身的民族情懷,融會在創作中。在構圖上,作品採取鳥瞰的視野將廣州這個南方城市的傳統和朝氣,盡顯於人前。從越秀山往下望,是綿延不絕的村落,一望無際。鄉鎮中出現一座黑瓦頂的古色古香建築物,是悠久廣東文化的見證。畫面內容豐富,又含細節的趣味,色彩燦爛,豐富強烈,洋溢明朗歡樂的情調,把藝術和人民生活相互聯繫。
來源
Collection of the Artist's Family
出版
Caves Art Center, Yee Bon, Taipei, Taiwan, 1997 (illustrated, p. 81).

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拍品專文

Yee Bon, as one of the most prominent painters during the 1950s in Hong Kong, his art works were enormously influential in the art development of Hong Kong in the early stage. In 1918, Yee Bon left for Canada and began receiving formal art education from L.L. Fitzgerald at Winnipeg School of Art in 1928. In 1929, he transferred to Ontario College of Art and studied under J.E.H MacDonald, J.W Beaty and Frank Johnson. In 1932, Yee Bon became the first Chinese artist who earned a place in the National Art Gallery of Canada in Ottawa (Fig. 1) earning him international recognition. He returned to his homeland in 1935, settling in Hong Kong, and started a studio in which he worked and taught even though Hong Kong was a small fishing village in the 1930s and 1940s. Yee Bon had taken up a difficult task trying to pursue and develop oil painting in an environment with little existing new art movements, especially of that in the Western medium. Although he encountered financial difficulties during this time, it did not prevent him from holding exhibitions almost once every year; his productivity in artistic creation was just astounding. When Xu Beihong visited his exhibition and studio in 1937, Xu exclaimed in amazement, "I thought oil painting was in its developing stage in China, especially in the south. To my surprise there are two such wonderful oil painters, Li Tiefu and Yee Bon, in Hong Kong." Yee Bon devoted himself to oil paintings for the whole 60 years of his life; in retrospect, his career can be profiled as two phases, the "Hong Kong period" (1935-1956) and the "China period", with the year 1957, when Yee Bon set off for Guangzhou from Hong Kong, being the dividing line. Six of Yee's art works offered in this auction are the valuable pieces from the Hong Kong and Guangzhou periods, including figurative, landscape and still life paintings. They are the important resources of studying Yee's art with special subjects and significant historical value.

"A painter should paint the life that he is familiar with in order to reflect his passion towards things he's fond of, instead of constructing something that does not belong to his class. Otherwise it can only be an ornament rather than an art piece with feelings" , he once said. Yee Bon's experiences in growing up in the countryside and the hardship he went through working overseas as a labourer made him have deep affections and strong sympathy for the labourers. After returning to his home country, he devoted himself to the study of labourer-related subject matters, starting from sincere commiseration, gradually rising to adoration and admiration. When Yee was invited by Xu Beihong to a painting trip in Guilin, Yee's great concern toward the human nature diverted his attention from the beautiful landscapes to the boat tracker who struggle with the rapid Li River everyday. "Labourers are the most wholesome and the beautiful," he once said. Thus, fishermen, farmers, labourers and cart drivers are frequently seen as the subject matter in Yee's work. Portrait (Lot 1157) profoundly shows the firm and unyielding farmer's firm and focused facial expression. The farmer is depicted wearing a deep coloured cloth around her head and dressed in plain clothing, showing the artist's intention to remove details of the accessories and clothes to draw our attention towards the young woman's face. With her lips tightly closed, she gazes steadily into the distance, exuding a calm and brave personality. By replacing the background setting with simplistic olive green and copper gold colours, the artist expresses the profound influence and timelessness of the laborers vitality and courage. By using similar settings, Portrait of a Child (Lot 1158) reveals the maturity of a girl greater than her age. Painted in profile, Yee isolates her body from her face in order to place emphasis upon her bright and piercing eyes that gaze into the distance, filled with broad vision and great affection.

In 1956, Yee Bon was invited to visit Beijing and other areas; and after seeing the grand development and prosperity in China, Yee and his family moved back to Guangdong from Hong Kong with the hope of contributing to the country through art. He devoted himself to oil painting, trying to explore a style that fits the period with a hint of Eastern elements under the changes of a modernizing China. He said: "I am always thinking that when Chinese are learning western art, one should combine it with his own culture, and should also have more understanding about his art culture." In order to do so, Yee had been practicing traditional ink paintings to borrow techniques from it to bring oil painting closer to the East. View of Mount Yuexiu i(Lot 1155) completed in 1958, expresses the artist's own passion towards his country. Compositionally, the artist uses bird's-eye-view perspective to incorporate the tradition and vitality of Guangzhou, a southern city in China. When looking down from Yuexiu Mountain, the villages form a continuous line and extend towards the horizon. Their historic architectures with black roof tiles are the witness of the long Guangdong tradition. The rich content, exquisite details, brilliant colours and bright, cheerful disposition harmonize art and life.

Yee's landscape painting exhibits the local colour of southern China while his still life works illustrate his Chinese aesthetics and personality. In both types of painting, the subject matter, composition, and colour all originate from his personal experiences. Still Life (Lot 1156) uses exquisite skills and somber tone of hues that recall Classical Realism, but simultaneously emanate serenity and depth. The colours used in the background, tabletop, flowers and apples are almost of the same tonality, challenging the artist's skill in depiction and composition. The white and blue pattered fruit bowl is distinctly Chinese and perhaps more tranquil compared to Flowers and Vase (Lot 1159) and Roses (Lot 1160) that radiate a leisurely carefree mood, much like prose poetry. The oval shape of the vase, much like goose egg and is filled with vibrant flowers in egg yolk yellow, pink and white, forming different layers of cool and warm elegant colours. The fruits intricately balance the composition, and the brushstrokes are steady and bold, showing artist's confidence and delight. The use of colour in Flowers and Vase is gentle while the bright red and vivid pink roses depicted in Rose (Lot 1160) appear to be elegant and graceful set against the deep green background. Although the painting is small in size, the vitality implied by blossoming roses is seen throughout.

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