.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
A remarkable artist and a pivotal figure in the local art scene of the 50s and 60s, Chinese-born Singaporean artist, Chen Wen Hsi was one of the pioneering artists from the Nanyang School who developed a unique form of artistic representation for Southeast Asia. Originally trained at the Xinhua Academy of Fine Art in Shanghai in 1930, Chen became adept in traditional Chinese ink and Western painting techniques, incorporating elements from both artistic approaches into his classical works of nature and animals, which he has become known for.
Skilfully executed in ink and colour on paper, Twelves Gibbons at Play is an exceptional work of its genre. Divided into three parts on a vertical scroll format, Chen eases simple representational elements like rocks, branches and flowers into the painting to subtly denote the height at which the gibbons are playfully swinging from. Despite the segmentation, the ink work is composed with an intuitive balance of spatial understanding through Chen's inclusive placement of gibbons in movement. Using very fine brushwork, one sees Chen's masterful use of both the realist Gongbi technique and the freely expressive Xieyi style in Twelve Gibbons at Play as he captures the vigour of life and delicacy of nature through his expressive strokes.
An iconic subject matter seen recurring in Chen's works throughout his creative oeuvre, the inspiration that led to his fascination in the depiction of gibbons took cue from the famous painting, White Robed Guanyin, Crane and Gibbon by the 13th Century Southern Song Dynasty monk painter, Mu Qi. Emulating the lifelike quality of Mu Qi's gibbons, Chen likewise has imbued his favourite animal subject with a life of their own on a twodimensional plane.
Decades later, the world continues to pay homage to this prolific artist who made ripples in Singapore's art scene, as we are fondly reminded of Chen's beloved gibbons on the back of Singapore's fifty dollar note along with their appearance in a special series of postal stamps. Twelve Gibbons at Play is without a doubt one of Chen's best renditions of his work on gibbons ever created in such a rare large-scale format and is a piece not to be missed.
Skilfully executed in ink and colour on paper, Twelves Gibbons at Play is an exceptional work of its genre. Divided into three parts on a vertical scroll format, Chen eases simple representational elements like rocks, branches and flowers into the painting to subtly denote the height at which the gibbons are playfully swinging from. Despite the segmentation, the ink work is composed with an intuitive balance of spatial understanding through Chen's inclusive placement of gibbons in movement. Using very fine brushwork, one sees Chen's masterful use of both the realist Gongbi technique and the freely expressive Xieyi style in Twelve Gibbons at Play as he captures the vigour of life and delicacy of nature through his expressive strokes.
An iconic subject matter seen recurring in Chen's works throughout his creative oeuvre, the inspiration that led to his fascination in the depiction of gibbons took cue from the famous painting, White Robed Guanyin, Crane and Gibbon by the 13th Century Southern Song Dynasty monk painter, Mu Qi. Emulating the lifelike quality of Mu Qi's gibbons, Chen likewise has imbued his favourite animal subject with a life of their own on a twodimensional plane.
Decades later, the world continues to pay homage to this prolific artist who made ripples in Singapore's art scene, as we are fondly reminded of Chen's beloved gibbons on the back of Singapore's fifty dollar note along with their appearance in a special series of postal stamps. Twelve Gibbons at Play is without a doubt one of Chen's best renditions of his work on gibbons ever created in such a rare large-scale format and is a piece not to be missed.