Page 346 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings Hong Kong Dec. 1 2015

1538

ZHAO SHAO’ANG (1905-1998)

Reading Under the Sky

Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on paper
98 x 31.5 cm. (38 ¬ x 12 ƒ in.)
Signed, with two seals of the artist
One collector’s seal of Tan Kin Chwee

NOTE:

Tan Kin Chwee is a Singaporean collector of Chinese paintings.

HK$250,000-350,000 US$33,000-45,000

LOT 1539
PROPERTY OF A LADY

1539

GAO QIFENG (1889-1933)

Monkey in the Moonlight

Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
133.5 x 65 cm. (52 Æ x 25 ¬ in.)
Inscribed with a poem and signed, with two seals of the artist
Dated winter, eleventh month, bingchen year (1916)
Three collectors’ seals, including one each of Yang Shanshen(1913-2004),
Guan Shanyue (1912-2000) and Li Shiyou (Jack Lee, 1916-2015)
Further inscribed and signed by Zhao Shao’ang (1905-1998) on the mounting,
with one seal
Titleslip by Ou Haonian (born 1935)
Dated summer, dinghai year (2007)

PROVENANCE:

Previously in the collection of Mr. Jack Lee.

EXHIBITED:

Hong Kong, Hong Kong Heritage Museum, The Heavenly Breeze: Selected Works of Gao Qifeng and
His Disciples, 18 April 2012-16 September 2013.

Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art, The Art of Gao Qifeng, 27 November 1981-17 January
1982.

LITERATURE:

The Art of Gao Qifeng, The Urban Council Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1981, p.62.
Kao Wai-Su and Kao Lai-Chit, Paintings by the Three Gao Brothers, Hong Kong, p.46.

NOTE:

As one of the founders of the Lingnan School of Painting, Gao Qifeng’s art brought a breath of
fresh air into the late Qing tradition of painting. Influenced by the Nihonga style during his studies
in Japan, Gao finessed his technique of mixing white pigment with colour, bringing a unique
liveliness to his landscape and particularly, in his depiction of animals.

In Monkey in the Moonlight, Gao’s soulful realism gives life to the monkey bathed in gentle
moonlight. The dramatic contrast between light and darkness, particularly seen on monkey’s body
and the lightness of his fur, demonstrates Gao’s expert skills in the layering of colours influenced
by European paintings. The nearly human-like expression on the monkey’s face intensifies the
emotional content of the painting, carrying an allegorical message.

HK$2,300,000-3,000,000 US$300,000-390,000

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