Lot 1365
- 1365
YU FEI'AN | Pigeons
Estimate
1,000,000 - 1,500,000 HKD
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Description
- Yu Fei'an
- Pigeons
- ink and colour on paper, framed
- 40.4 by 60 cm. 15 7/8 by 23 5/8 in.
signed FEI'AN, dated 1948, and inscribed. Inscribed again, signed YU ZHAO, dated 1949, with a dedication, and four seals of the artistINSCRIPTION:I enjoy raising pigeons, and have had over a hundred of them over the past thirty years, all of which are famous breeds. I have also written essays as a sequel to The Pigeon Register (by Qing imperial artists). Since the month of winter solstice in wuzi year, 1948, the city has been besieged and yet to be rescued, thus I painted two pigeons, Mohuan and Yuchi. During the Kitchen God Festival of wuzi year, 1948, Fei’an.
Provenance
Sotheby’s Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Paintings, April 2007, Lot 1121
Exhibited
EXHIBITED & ILLUSTRATED
Modern Chinese Artists – Yu Fei’an, volume II, Tianjin People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, March 2005, p.4
Hong Kong, Sotheby’s, Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy from 20th Century Masters: The Goldbell Collection, October 2-6, 2015, and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, pl.3
Modern Chinese Artists – Yu Fei’an, volume II, Tianjin People’s Fine Arts Publishing House, March 2005, p.4
Hong Kong, Sotheby’s, Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy from 20th Century Masters: The Goldbell Collection, October 2-6, 2015, and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, pl.3
Catalogue Note
This painting is dedicated to Liu Shukun, a famous Beijing doctor and well-connected collector within painting circles. He was Qi Baishi’s neighbour and a friend of Yu Fei’an’s, who created this painting for him, and collected many of Yu’s outstanding works.
Yu Fei’an was well-versed in the classical elegant arts, especially that of raising pigeons. His Doumen huange ji (Notes on Raising Pigeons Written at the City Gate) was published in 1928 and later translated into English. Here, he vividly captured the poses and eyes of two rare specimens, Mohuan (Ink Bracelet) and Yuchi (Jade Wings). Using ink and shell-white he rendered the striking contrast of their black and white feathers, capturing their subtle sheen.
In the inscription on the left, Yu Fei’an dates the painting on 10th January, 1949, and notes that he created this work to relieve himself of boredom during a two-month siege of Beijing by the Communists. Yu’s second inscription dedicates the painting to his old friend Liu Shukun in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Beijing was finally taken by the Communists on 31th January, or the third day of the first lunar month. The few weeks between Yu Fei’an’s completion of the painting and his giving it to Liu serve as witnesses to a pivotal moment in Chinese history.
Yu Fei’an was well-versed in the classical elegant arts, especially that of raising pigeons. His Doumen huange ji (Notes on Raising Pigeons Written at the City Gate) was published in 1928 and later translated into English. Here, he vividly captured the poses and eyes of two rare specimens, Mohuan (Ink Bracelet) and Yuchi (Jade Wings). Using ink and shell-white he rendered the striking contrast of their black and white feathers, capturing their subtle sheen.
In the inscription on the left, Yu Fei’an dates the painting on 10th January, 1949, and notes that he created this work to relieve himself of boredom during a two-month siege of Beijing by the Communists. Yu’s second inscription dedicates the painting to his old friend Liu Shukun in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Beijing was finally taken by the Communists on 31th January, or the third day of the first lunar month. The few weeks between Yu Fei’an’s completion of the painting and his giving it to Liu serve as witnesses to a pivotal moment in Chinese history.