Luo Zhongli

signed in Chinese and dated 81.7; signed in Chinese and pinyin, titled in Chinese on the reverse, framed

Chongqing Art Museum, Sichuan Academy of Fine Art, Sichuan
Acquired directly from the above by the current owner 

Chongqing Art Museum, Sichuan Academy of Fine Art, Sichuan (label)

The black doorway with an area of light cracking to the paint with three associated minor paint flakes, approx 2mm, 2mm, and 1mm. A further small paint flake near the right edge, approx 3mm, otherwise generally in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

There are several prominent names in contemporary Chinese art which are associated with the 1981 class in oil painting at Sichuan Academy of Fine Art (SAFA): Zhang Xiaogang, Zhou Chunya, Ye Yongqing, He Duoling and Luo Zhongli among them. Although the likes of Zhang Xiaogang and Zhou Chunya are most popular in the current market, it was Luo Zhongli that first attracted attention to this group of artists.

 In 1980, while Luo was a sophomore student at SAFA, his work Father received extraordinary acclaim when exhibited in the All-China Youth Art Exhibition. The painting was in the same vein of work by the American Chuck Close, whose photo-realist style had impressed Luo after seeing his work in an English art magazine while at SAFA.

To the Chinese audiences of the 1980s however, Father was viewed as a highly controversial work representing an iconographic and stylistic heresy. To them, the monumental size of the work (216 by 152 cm.) was similar only to either portraits of Chairman Mao or historical paintings depicting great events of Chinese revolutionary history. The majestic size of this work was considered totally inappropriate to portraiture of an anonymous peasant. This outrage was enhanced by the Caravaggesque unvarnished photo-realistic details of the work - such as dirt under the protagonist's fingernails, his deeply-wrinkled face and sweaty brow - which all portrayed a remarkably accurate image of the peasant life.

Where the socialist doctrine of art during the first three decades of the People's Republic of China was to propagate party policy and depict the happy and prosperous life of the proletariat, this work did the opposite as it raised the question of how a Chinese citizen could still look so poor and helpless when new China had been established for already more than three decades?

The essence of Socialist Realism was in the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism: peasants were portrayed with happy smiling faces, masculine robust bodies, whilst performing heroic acts or engaged in sacrificial pursuits for the cause of the revolution.  None of these traits, however, are found in Father. When published on the front cover of Meishu in 1981, it provoked a debate on whether the work portrayed a degenerative impression of the Chinese peasant.

In fact, the work was inspired by the artist's personal experiences during a ten year stint working in the countryside after graduating from the High School of  Sichuan Academy of Fine Art in 1965, first as a schoolteacher where he taught art to peasants, and after as a factory worker in a boiler shop in the Daba mountain area.. After these experiences, he was admitted to the oil painting department of SAFA.  In an interview after Father won the golden prize of the nationwide Youth Art Exhibition, Luo recalled his inspiration for the work:

It was the eve of Chinese New Year. It was already getting quiet on the street and I was on my way to a public restroom when I saw him. Under dim street lights, he was sitting motionless at the corner of a cesspit, staring aimlessly into the hole. He resembled a cornered animal, which had no intention of fighting back. A surge of anger, sympathy and sorrow rushed over me. Peasants are always so vulnerable and submissive. From that moment, I decided to speak for them. That was my main intention of painting this work.

Luo Zhongli's ten years in the countryside was, indeed, life-altering and has had a dramatic influence on his art. Throughout his career of more than 20 years, despite his technique changing dramatically from photo-realism to neo-expressionism, the subject of his art has always been concentrated on peasantry: the primitive beauty of their efforts of daily life.

End of Year (Lot 813) was completed two years after Father, and is another major work which encapsulates the essence of Luo Zhongli's early style. Standing in front of a small local bank, an old peasant is portrayed preparing to deposit his year's savings. The depiction of this moment in the peasant's life illustrates the far from prosperous lifestyle of the peasants of rural China. Also relatively large in size for work from this period (180 by 150cm.), this rendition is astonishing in its detailed realism, highlighted by the wrinkles on the old man's body, the stitches on his dilapidated cloth and the intricacy of the paraphernalia on his back. As in Father, the same tight and invisible brushworks are applied in End of Year, demonstrating Luo Zhongli's virtuoso as a Realist.

Despite these similarities, End of Year differs from Father in terms of its stronger sense of narration and subtler sentimentality. The highly-detailed imagery informs the viewer much about the old man: he has endured a hard physical life outdoors - the life of a peasant - but with a small stack of money in hand, seems to have managed to make ends meet.

China opened its doors to the outside world in the 1980s and welcomed foreign tourists for the first time in 30 years. After End of Year was completed in 1981, it was exhibited in Chongqing Art Museum (part of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Art) from where it was purchased by a foreign tourist for 7000 RMB. The proceeds were split between the museum and Luo, this being the first painting ever sold by the artist. With the proceeds Luo purchased a Ricoh camera, something he had coveted for a long time. The museum later commissioned him to paint a further two smaller versions of End of Year with slight changes in detail.

Other works from this auction represent different stages in Luo Zhongli's artistic career. Water Bearer (Lot 818), Harvest (Lot 815), Winter Wheat (Lot 814), and Memories (Lot 817), were all painted in the early 1980s, when Luo had just graduated from SAFA. At that time, he began to incorporate brighter colours such as yellow, blue and green, and started experimenting with the dramatic effect of lighting in his work. In addition, his brushworks are looser and more visible. All these works succeed in capturing the innocent beauty of rural life. Water Bearer for example portrays the moment of a thirsty boy drinking water directly from the bucket when it was still on the shoulder of a country girl. Winter Wheat depicts a young woman carrying wheat at night, the surrounding countryside bathed in silver moonlight.

In the mid-1980s, Luo Zhongli went to study in Europe for several years and was dramatically influenced by the bold brushstrokes and vivid colours of Neo-Expressionism. Golden Leopards (Lot 816) embraces all the characteristics of this new style. The composition still very much portrays the artist's favourite subject of rural life, portraying a dramatic scene in which a village family defends themselves from the attack of a leopard. While one figure lies injured on the ground, two others fight the beast back. Compared with his works from the early-1990s, Leopard bears greater sense of dynamism and rhythm. The slightly distorted figure-type and loose brushstrokes depart greatly from Luo's earlier style, reflecting a new emphasis on a primitive beauty and energy.

Luo Zhongli's works are unique in the rich landscape of Chinese contemporary art history. From Father to his more recent works, his art reaches beyond specific historical and cultural contexts and explores the broader meaning of humanity. In his art, the images of peasants are not passive subjects that are meant to satisfy the viewers' voyeurism or curiosity of an exotic life; rather, their sincerity, independence and dignity are the major themes of Luo Zhongli's oeuvre.