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Lot Essay
Jiang Guofang is the only contemporary Chinese painter to choose the mysterious Forbidden City as the subject matter of his work. Beginning in 1987, he has produced more than 300 works with this theme in almost 30 years; paintings that whisper to us the intrigue of Qing Court. The present lot Palace Entrance, executed in 2013, inaugurated the Forbidden City Series, and 26 years later, he has revisited this same scene anew.
A powerful idiom of classical realism - coupled with a firm grasp of oil painting techniques - distinguishes his art. Varying depths of shadow and shade in the composition are clearly defined, thereby intensifying the power of inspiration and the sense of mystery. In maneuvering his creative endeavor, Jiang Guofang draws upon the orderly and demanding principles of traditional Chinese painting, thereby infusing his works with a quality of refinement unique to Chinese culture. In the manner of a movie scene, the artist utilizes the narrative method of cinematography, imparting historic detail to his canvas. The viewer is then drawn into the moment captured.
The figures in all of Jiang Guofang's paintings have been fashioned with meticulous details, and their demeanor and personal feelings scrupulously portrayed. In Palace Entrance, the young emperor is presented with his back to the viewer. The exhaustive delineation of the palace doors and layers of oil paint unmask the hereditary succession of imperial power in feudal China. Foreshadowing the tribulations and unknown future confronting the vulnerable young emperor, he quietly stands in his seemingly remote royal palace with impenetrable depths.
A powerful idiom of classical realism - coupled with a firm grasp of oil painting techniques - distinguishes his art. Varying depths of shadow and shade in the composition are clearly defined, thereby intensifying the power of inspiration and the sense of mystery. In maneuvering his creative endeavor, Jiang Guofang draws upon the orderly and demanding principles of traditional Chinese painting, thereby infusing his works with a quality of refinement unique to Chinese culture. In the manner of a movie scene, the artist utilizes the narrative method of cinematography, imparting historic detail to his canvas. The viewer is then drawn into the moment captured.
The figures in all of Jiang Guofang's paintings have been fashioned with meticulous details, and their demeanor and personal feelings scrupulously portrayed. In Palace Entrance, the young emperor is presented with his back to the viewer. The exhaustive delineation of the palace doors and layers of oil paint unmask the hereditary succession of imperial power in feudal China. Foreshadowing the tribulations and unknown future confronting the vulnerable young emperor, he quietly stands in his seemingly remote royal palace with impenetrable depths.