Related News
Home » Feature » Art and Culture
Big-name socialist realism ink washes go to auction
By Wang Jie |
April 23, 2009, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
REMARKABLE socialist realism ink-wash paintings by big names will be auctioned next Tuesday. They're eloquent reminders of the revolutionary fervor of the 1950s and 1960s, writes Wang Jie.
Socialist realism was the dominant style of the 1950s and 1960s, and even traditional ink-wash artists abandoned birds and flowers for scenes of steel mills and tractors.
Socialist realism oils and reproductions are well known, but lesser known are the ink-wash paintings that apply traditional techniques to scenes of building New China.
An auction of 20 rare ink-wash works will be held next Tuesday at The Regent Shanghai. Works can be previewed on Sunday and Monday.
"Most of the traditional ink-wash paintings are created by big names, such as Chen Shifa and Liu Danzhai," says Li Jing, from the organizer Chongyuan Art Auction Co Ltd.
The highlight is a scroll painted by Chen Shifa in 1958, vividly depicting a scene in a steel mill. The work has a romantic aura, a reminder of the revolutionary passion of those days when people yearned for progress.
It is expected to fetch 300,000 yuan (US$43,932) to 400,000 yuan.
"Perhaps these paintings appear a bit dated today," Li adds. "But in fact, these works and others were critical in changing stereotyped traditional ink-wash paintings and injecting realism."
Rivers, misted mountains, birds and flowers were the dominant subjects in traditional paintings for centuries. But Chen and others changed the fixed content and reflected lives of modern people.
"The value lies not only in the artistic creation itself, but also in its rarity," Li explains. "These paintings could only be created during a certain historical period that cannot be reproduced."
Collectors from China and abroad are interested in this period when art was supposed to inspire the people to build a socialist country.
"The historical background is really a plus in these artworks," Li says. "Because of the limited number of paintings, the prices are quite reasonable."
Preview:
Date: April 26-27, 10am-7pm
Venue: 4/F, The Regent Shanghai, 1116 Yan'an Rd W.
Auction
Date: April 28, 10am
Venue: 4/F, The Regent Shanghai, Yan'an Rd W.
Socialist realism was the dominant style of the 1950s and 1960s, and even traditional ink-wash artists abandoned birds and flowers for scenes of steel mills and tractors.
Socialist realism oils and reproductions are well known, but lesser known are the ink-wash paintings that apply traditional techniques to scenes of building New China.
An auction of 20 rare ink-wash works will be held next Tuesday at The Regent Shanghai. Works can be previewed on Sunday and Monday.
"Most of the traditional ink-wash paintings are created by big names, such as Chen Shifa and Liu Danzhai," says Li Jing, from the organizer Chongyuan Art Auction Co Ltd.
The highlight is a scroll painted by Chen Shifa in 1958, vividly depicting a scene in a steel mill. The work has a romantic aura, a reminder of the revolutionary passion of those days when people yearned for progress.
It is expected to fetch 300,000 yuan (US$43,932) to 400,000 yuan.
"Perhaps these paintings appear a bit dated today," Li adds. "But in fact, these works and others were critical in changing stereotyped traditional ink-wash paintings and injecting realism."
Rivers, misted mountains, birds and flowers were the dominant subjects in traditional paintings for centuries. But Chen and others changed the fixed content and reflected lives of modern people.
"The value lies not only in the artistic creation itself, but also in its rarity," Li explains. "These paintings could only be created during a certain historical period that cannot be reproduced."
Collectors from China and abroad are interested in this period when art was supposed to inspire the people to build a socialist country.
"The historical background is really a plus in these artworks," Li says. "Because of the limited number of paintings, the prices are quite reasonable."
Preview:
Date: April 26-27, 10am-7pm
Venue: 4/F, The Regent Shanghai, 1116 Yan'an Rd W.
Auction
Date: April 28, 10am
Venue: 4/F, The Regent Shanghai, Yan'an Rd W.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
