Lee Man Fong

Acquired by the Present Owner from a Private Dutch Collection in the 1970s 

This work is in good overall condition as viewed. Examination under ultraviolet light reveals some areas of restoration at the upper right quadrant, at the bottom rim of the pagoda roof, along the bottom of the boat, and along the left edge and near the center of the left edge. Framed.
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Lee Man Fong’s oeuvre may be seen as a visual history of Indonesia’s development of modern art. Many of the paintings are focused on the country’s local culture and landscape. However during his career, he also directed his artistic gaze to places that were familiar to him and held nostalgic sentiments. The present work Scene of Liu Yuan, Lingering Garden is one such piece that is a scene from the artist’s memories of China.         

The Lingering Gardens are one of the nine “Classical Gardens of Suzhou”, and feature prominently in the country’s classical literature and artworks. Over 400 years old and located in the Jiangsu Province, the gardens were closed briefly during the Sino-Japanese war and reopened in 1954. Lee Man Fong’s painting was created 2 years after this date, and shows the Central Garden where pavilions surround the boat pond. It is the oldest part of the heritage site, and the scene still exists to this day.

Akin with the artist’s Balinese works that portray the women as the focal point of the paintings, Scene of Liu Yuan, Lingering Garden shares a similar narrative for the boat draws in the audience’s attention, before their gaze expands outwards to the buildings and trees. This compositional layout is also reminiscent of classical Chinese landscape paintings where parts of the landscape were detailed and in focus, while the background was left absent of definition. Lee Man Fong’s paintings were largely defined by his Chinese heritage. While the artist did not adhere to traditional aesthetics per se, these principles are evident throughout his career. It is in works like Scene of Liu Yuan, Lingering Garden where this cultural influence becomes apparent.

Lee Man Fong’s paintings that feature China are a special part of his oeuvre, for they show an intimate side that may be not be evident in the Balinese paintings where he is an outsider experiencing a foreign culture. Scene of Liu Yuan, Lingering Garden provides him with a familiar platform that he can relate to. By choosing a place that has captivated Chinese literati for centuries, he is celebrating the beauty and historical importance of the Lingering Gardens. The painting is essentially the artist’s homage to his homeland.