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Birds with Autumn Leaves
Details
LIN FENGMIAN (1900-1991)
Birds with Autumn Leaves
Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on paper
68 x 68 cm. (26 3⁄4 x 26 3⁄4 in.)
Signed, with one seal of the artist
Birds with Autumn Leaves
Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on paper
68 x 68 cm. (26 3⁄4 x 26 3⁄4 in.)
Signed, with one seal of the artist
Provenance
Christie’s Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Modern Paintings, 31 May 2011, Lot 2692.
Literature
Paintings from the Shanghai School, Shanghai, Shanghai Paintings and Calligraphy Publishing House, November 2011, p. 143.
Collection of Chinese Paintings (III), Xiling Publishing House, Hangzhou, March 2012, p. 232.
Collection of Chinese Paintings (III), Xiling Publishing House, Hangzhou, March 2012, p. 232.
Exhibited
Shanghai, Expo Park China Pavilion, Paintings from the Shanghai School, 25-27 November 2011.
Further details
Birds perching on tree branches found their way in Lin Fengmian’s art as early as the 1930s, ‘a unique creation in his flower-and-bird painting’ according to Lang Shaojun. He began with compositions with a singular bird, and in his 1936 gift for Wu Guanzhong’s wedding, a pair of birds snuggly nestle in a web of wisteria (Fig. 1). As his exploration of the theme culminated in works such as Birds and Cherry Blossms, Spring, and Birds with Autumn Leaves (Fig. 2) dating to the 1950s, the scenery in which Lin Fengmian placed the birds often reflected his mood, suggested by cherry blossoms in springtime, pear blossoms at night, red leaves in autumn or bleak, winter light.
Likely created after Lin Fengmian moved to Hong Kong, the present Birds with Autumn Leaves is a lively and even more colourful iteration compared to his 1960s works: 16 birds, quiet after returning to their nest, all captured in animated postures; some have closed their eyes and half-asleep, some are fluffing up their feathers, wings aflutter. The keenly observed birds are imbued with such a vitality rarely seen in the artist’s oeuvre. Extraordinarily, the centre is deliberately left almost blank to create a back-lit effect in contrast with the vivid leaves, enhancing a sense of infinite space.
‘Birds perching on tree branches are a unique creation in Lin Fengmian’s flower-and-bird painting. Typical examples include Birds and Cherry Blossms, Winter Day and Spring. Resting on trees or amidst flowers and cheery, they are abstractions of nature beyond representation. Lin Fengmian’s painting, which blends descriptive realism of European painting and impressionistic brushwork, distances from traditional flower-and-bird archetypes and instead fully conveys the artist’s love for nature.‘
– Lang Shaojun
Likely created after Lin Fengmian moved to Hong Kong, the present Birds with Autumn Leaves is a lively and even more colourful iteration compared to his 1960s works: 16 birds, quiet after returning to their nest, all captured in animated postures; some have closed their eyes and half-asleep, some are fluffing up their feathers, wings aflutter. The keenly observed birds are imbued with such a vitality rarely seen in the artist’s oeuvre. Extraordinarily, the centre is deliberately left almost blank to create a back-lit effect in contrast with the vivid leaves, enhancing a sense of infinite space.
‘Birds perching on tree branches are a unique creation in Lin Fengmian’s flower-and-bird painting. Typical examples include Birds and Cherry Blossms, Winter Day and Spring. Resting on trees or amidst flowers and cheery, they are abstractions of nature beyond representation. Lin Fengmian’s painting, which blends descriptive realism of European painting and impressionistic brushwork, distances from traditional flower-and-bird archetypes and instead fully conveys the artist’s love for nature.‘
– Lang Shaojun
Brought to you by
Carmen Shek Cerne (石嘉雯)
Vice President, Head of Department, Chinese Paintings