Page 284 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013

254
Lin Fengmian (1900-1991)
Opera scene
Ink and colour on paper, depicting a scene from ‘The Gates at the Southern Heavens’,
signed and sealed at the bottom right, framed and glazed.
63.9cm x 63.9cm (25¼in x 25¼in)
£60,000 - 100,000
HK$710,000 - 1,200,000 CNY560,000 - 940,000

林風眠(1900-1991) 南天門 設色紙本 鏡框

款識：林風眠
鈴印：林風眠印

Provenance: an English family collection of Lin Fengmian paintings; according to the
family, the mother studied for a period with Lin Fengmian in Shanghai and during
this time acquired the signed paintings as well as collected unsigned paintings by him
painted during the classes.

來源：英國家族收藏林風眠系列作品；根據家族之說法，其母親曾在上海受教於林
風眠，並在同時期購得林風眠有署名的作品以及收藏了其授課時沒有署名的畫作。

The painting depicts a scene from the Beijing Opera ‘Southern Heaven’s Gate’. The
story takes place during the Ming Dynasty when a high minister was ensnared in an
ambush by his political rival, the powerful eunuch Wei Zhongxian. The minister’s wife
on hearing the news comitted suicide. However, a loyal old servant, depicted in the
present lot with a white beard, helped to escort the young daughter Cao Yulian to
seek refuge with relatives. The opera narrates their difficult journey together through
the snow and ice pursued by enemies.

The painting employs bold dynamic brush-strokes that heighten the sense of drama.
The old servant behind the young woman protects and shields her from the elements,
menacingly represented through a dense background of angular shapes.

A similar painting was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong on 28 May 2010, lot 780.

Signature

280 | Bonhams