Page 122 - September 20 2021 Fabian Collection of Chinese Paintings Art Bonhams NYC

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LI KERAN (1907-1989)
Washing the Water Buffalo
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, signed Keran with an artist’s
seal reading Li, the outer titleslip inscribed in clerical script and dated
wushen (1968) fourth month, with two calligraphers’ seals.
13 x 17 3/4in (33.2 x 45cm)

$30,000 - 50,000
李可染 水牛圖 設色紙本 立軸

Provenance/來源:
Far East Fine Arts, San Francisco, California
加州舊金山遠東藝術中心

Published/出版:
Toda, Teisuke and Hiromitsu Ogawa comp. Comprehensive Illustrated
Catalogue of Chinese Paintings, Third Series, Volume 1: American and
Canadian Collections, University of Tokyo Press, 2013,
A50-126, p. 212
戶田禎佑、小川裕充，《中國繪畫總合圖錄》三編，第一卷，東京大
學出版會，東京，2013年，A50-126，頁212

Little, Stephen, and J. May Lee Barrett. New Songs on Ancient Tunes:
19th-20th Century Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Richard
Fabian Collection, Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts,
2007, pp. 592-593
Little, Stephen, J. May Lee Barrett,《古調新歌：費立哲神父珍藏十九
及二十世紀中國書畫》，檀香山藝術博物館，夏威夷，
2007年，頁592-593

Isamu Noguchi/Qi Baishi/Beijing 1930, New York, 2013, no 75, p. 75
《野口勇/齊白石/20世紀30年代北京》，紐約，2013年，
圖錄編號75，頁75

Exhibited/展覽:
New Songs on Ancient Tunes, Honolulu Art Academy, Honolulu,
Hawaii, August 30-October 28, 2007
《古調新歌：費立哲神父珍藏十九及二十世紀中國書畫》，檀香山藝
術博物館，夏威夷，2007年8月30日至10月28日

Li Keran painted the subject of a herd boy and buffalo (Ruziniu) on
countless occasions over the course of his long career, becoming a
signature subject in his oeuvre. On the surface, the depiction of water
buffalo or oxen with a herd boy companion appears as a benign
depiction of the rural lifestyle. However, the subject is tied to the
cultural milieu of 20th century China, as the artist’s depiction is an
implicit reference to Lu Xun’s (1881-1936) writings in the 1930’s when
he compares himself to a buffalo: ‘willingly I become a buffalo for the
sake of the children’ (俯首甘為孺子牛), as well as Guo Moruo’s (1892-
1978) essay ‘In Praise of Water Buffalo’ (水牛贊), where Guo suggests
that the water buffalo should be embraced as a national emblem of
strength and humble, yet hard work.

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