- 101
Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji)
Estimate
2,000,000 - 3,000,000 HKD
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Description
- Zao Wou-Ki (Zhao Wuji)
- Sans titre
- oil on canvas
signed in Chinese and Pinyin and dated 45
Provenance
Private Collection, London
European Bank
Acquired by the present owner from the above
European Bank
Acquired by the present owner from the above
Condition
This work is in good condition. There is scattered craquelure across the surface, due to the natural aging process. There is one paint loss 0.7 cm in length, 10 cm to the right and 19 cm to the top; and some few minor paint losses in an area 30 cm to the right and 13 cm to the bottom. There is no evidence of restoration under UV light.
"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."
"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."
Catalogue Note
Zao Wou-Ki - A rare Hangzhou period work: Sans titre
In 1941 Zao Wou-Ki graduated from the Hangzhou School of Fine Arts, and was kept on as a teacher due to his excellent grades. He taught and was active in his painting, exploring how he could use the Western medium of oil painting to express his feelings and personal style. From 1941 to 1948, when he was in Hangzhou and before he went to France, he produced a significant number of works. After he went to France, he left most of his works behind in China. Some were unfortunately destroyed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, and many the remaining paintings have been collected by his relatives. Over the last 20 years, the number of Zao Wou-Ki's paintings from his early Hangzhou era that have appeared at public auction are in the single digits, an indication of how precious this piece is. Completed in 1945, Sans titre (Lot 101) has never appeared on the market before.
Search for the subject and the origin
"On my easel I was experimenting with oil painting. I used locally produced paints, I made my own frames, and I painted a lot of portraits....I only remember that during that period I worked very hard to dispel my depression. I was continually searching; sometimes got lost and sometimes I wanted to start over. I kept experimenting. I remember I once imitated Marc Chagall's 1920s works.... My plan was to improve my skills first. I wanted to be able to express my innate feelings with the brush, and to use lines to represent this space and this light." This is the memory that Zao had of his works in his Hangzhou period.
Sans titre is part of Zao's early attempt in his artistic creation. As he said, he gave up the techniques of calligraphy and ink painting that he had been so familiar with since childhood, and all traditional "Chinese" elements, and started to paint in oil, which he was unfamiliar with. He pondered over composition and colour, and attempted to find his own style. In this work, he used thick coats of paint in layers as the background, with bright blue, yellow, orange, red, lotus root purple - rainbow-like colours. He added grey and white, laying out a clear sky and its overflowing light. He used heavier black and brown lines, to go with the indigo, to outline the scene that he saw. His subject was not the temple buildings so widespread in China, but a cross shaped Western church with a pointed tower at the centre. A low building surrounds it from the left, and in the garden obelisks and crosses can be seen. In the centre of the painting there is a person in a white robe with his hands held high like he is flying upward. It adds a sense of mystery to the work, and is perhaps an integration of Zao's surrealist imagination regarding the clergy.
The whole of the upper part of the church is surrounded by a golden lemon colour. As well as expressing the sunlight, it perhaps also carries a sacred religious allusion, of bringing hope and light. The work is rich with colour. It echoes the work Homeland by his teacher Lin Fengmian. Zao cherished his early works. Les Joueurs de tennis (Tennis Players) is another small painting he completed in 1945. Both works record his feeling for his hometown and his trials, and are considered important representative works from his Hangzhou period.
In 1941 Zao Wou-Ki graduated from the Hangzhou School of Fine Arts, and was kept on as a teacher due to his excellent grades. He taught and was active in his painting, exploring how he could use the Western medium of oil painting to express his feelings and personal style. From 1941 to 1948, when he was in Hangzhou and before he went to France, he produced a significant number of works. After he went to France, he left most of his works behind in China. Some were unfortunately destroyed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, and many the remaining paintings have been collected by his relatives. Over the last 20 years, the number of Zao Wou-Ki's paintings from his early Hangzhou era that have appeared at public auction are in the single digits, an indication of how precious this piece is. Completed in 1945, Sans titre (Lot 101) has never appeared on the market before.
Search for the subject and the origin
"On my easel I was experimenting with oil painting. I used locally produced paints, I made my own frames, and I painted a lot of portraits....I only remember that during that period I worked very hard to dispel my depression. I was continually searching; sometimes got lost and sometimes I wanted to start over. I kept experimenting. I remember I once imitated Marc Chagall's 1920s works.... My plan was to improve my skills first. I wanted to be able to express my innate feelings with the brush, and to use lines to represent this space and this light." This is the memory that Zao had of his works in his Hangzhou period.
Sans titre is part of Zao's early attempt in his artistic creation. As he said, he gave up the techniques of calligraphy and ink painting that he had been so familiar with since childhood, and all traditional "Chinese" elements, and started to paint in oil, which he was unfamiliar with. He pondered over composition and colour, and attempted to find his own style. In this work, he used thick coats of paint in layers as the background, with bright blue, yellow, orange, red, lotus root purple - rainbow-like colours. He added grey and white, laying out a clear sky and its overflowing light. He used heavier black and brown lines, to go with the indigo, to outline the scene that he saw. His subject was not the temple buildings so widespread in China, but a cross shaped Western church with a pointed tower at the centre. A low building surrounds it from the left, and in the garden obelisks and crosses can be seen. In the centre of the painting there is a person in a white robe with his hands held high like he is flying upward. It adds a sense of mystery to the work, and is perhaps an integration of Zao's surrealist imagination regarding the clergy.
The whole of the upper part of the church is surrounded by a golden lemon colour. As well as expressing the sunlight, it perhaps also carries a sacred religious allusion, of bringing hope and light. The work is rich with colour. It echoes the work Homeland by his teacher Lin Fengmian. Zao cherished his early works. Les Joueurs de tennis (Tennis Players) is another small painting he completed in 1945. Both works record his feeling for his hometown and his trials, and are considered important representative works from his Hangzhou period.