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Lot Essay
Portrait of Mr. Sun is a painting of Sun Jianzhong, a friend of Pan Yuliang. This is a rare portrait of a male by Pan as she is most known for self-portraits and paintings of the female nude. It is a typical Western classical portrait, with Sun's facial features depicted in a realistic manner, fully demonstrating Pan's engagement with portraiture, reflecting her solid training in studio painting in Europe in the early 1920s.
Pan was one of the first few Chinese artists to study abroad in France. The execution of an expressive and rhythmic brushwork and the classical pose of portraiture both render a vivid representation of Sun. Pan exhibits the character and impression of Western oil painting using natural colours in light layers of paint to depict her sitter. At the same time, her gestural brushwork reflects traditional Chinese calligraphic marks that are spontaneous and charged with energy. She skillfully blends various earth tone- shades of maroon, brown, yellow and blue- to illustrate the background of the work. Black is used to outline Sun's suit, which adds volume and depth to the composition. She then uses hints of pink to depict Sun's rosy cheeks, and hues of warm colours to create a luminous skin tone and texture that enlivens the portrait.
Sun met Pan through a group of intellectuals, and thereafter the two became lifelong friends. They both shared similar interests and backgrounds in arts and culture, as Sun is a Chinese art dealer and antique collector, who also lived in France. This highly personal painting was originally a gift from the artist to Sun. The confident expression seen through Sun's eyes, together with his amicable smile further illustrate the profound friendship between the two.
Apart from the present lot, Pan had also gifted a few of her paintings to the Sun family, some of which are iconic works that Pan was most known for, for instance her still-lifes and paintings of the female nude (Fig. 1 and 2).
Pan was one of the first few Chinese artists to study abroad in France. The execution of an expressive and rhythmic brushwork and the classical pose of portraiture both render a vivid representation of Sun. Pan exhibits the character and impression of Western oil painting using natural colours in light layers of paint to depict her sitter. At the same time, her gestural brushwork reflects traditional Chinese calligraphic marks that are spontaneous and charged with energy. She skillfully blends various earth tone- shades of maroon, brown, yellow and blue- to illustrate the background of the work. Black is used to outline Sun's suit, which adds volume and depth to the composition. She then uses hints of pink to depict Sun's rosy cheeks, and hues of warm colours to create a luminous skin tone and texture that enlivens the portrait.
Sun met Pan through a group of intellectuals, and thereafter the two became lifelong friends. They both shared similar interests and backgrounds in arts and culture, as Sun is a Chinese art dealer and antique collector, who also lived in France. This highly personal painting was originally a gift from the artist to Sun. The confident expression seen through Sun's eyes, together with his amicable smile further illustrate the profound friendship between the two.
Apart from the present lot, Pan had also gifted a few of her paintings to the Sun family, some of which are iconic works that Pan was most known for, for instance her still-lifes and paintings of the female nude (Fig. 1 and 2).