Auction - First Foujita painting ever to be auctioned in HK

© 2011 Artists Rights Society (ARS),

New York/ADAGP, Paris

Works by Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, one of the greatest 20th century Japanese painters from the School of Paris and well-known to both collectors of Impressionist and Modern Art and Japanese Art, will be auctioned in Hong Kong. Foujita is widely known as one of the first Japanese artists to enter the Western painting market. Christie’s will offer three of his iconic works in the Evening sale of Asin 20th century and Contemporary Art on May 28. Two of the paintings feature loving portraits of the Virgin Mary. Painted in 1962, they reflect Foujita’s Catholic faith following his conversion in 1959. They perfectly demonstrate an Asian artist’s adoption of Western religious imagery which he handles with the delicacy of Japanese ink tradition, and he infuses it with his own distinct vision. 

Amongst the other highlights is Sanyu's Pink Plum Blossoms & Green Branches. Sanuy was one of the first Chinese artists to study in France and his works have been among the most sought after for artists of his generation. The foreground of this work is dominated by the bold crisscrossing of branches eliciting a flavour of calligraphy, while the vacant background is strictly Eastern in spirit. His sophisticated use of colour exudes the simplicity of traditional Chinese lacquer ware and rosewood furniture, culminating in a masterpiece that draws from the heart of both Eastern calligraphic art and Western colour theory, and  which may challenge the world auction record held by the artist. 

Sanyu's Pink Plum Blossoms & Green Branches

Another highlight will be Zhang Xiaogang's Father and Son from the Bloodline series. Mimicking the format of archival family photographs, this series lay bare the conflicts of the time - the adherence to the collective value of the nation versus the traditional obligations of the Confucian family.

The painting’s restrained treatment of shadow and light and its quiet surrealism not only highlights an Easterner’s yearning for spiritual purity, it also epitomizes the artist’s documentation of a changing China.

Zhang Xiaogang's Father and Son