signed FEI'AN, dated 1948, inscribed, with a dedication, and three seals of the artistINSCRIPTION:Celebrating Zhengzhi’s sixtieth birthday.In a summer afternoon in wuzi year, 1948, I painted Paradise Flycatchers by Red Foliage in Mount Shou’an after the style of Tang dynasty artists, to extend my best wishes. Fei’an Di Zhao.

EXHIBITED & ILLUSTRATED
Hong Kong, Sotheby’s, Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy from 20^th Century Masters: The Goldbell Collection, October 2-6, 2015, and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, cover and pl.5

Painted in 1948 and accompanied with a celebratory inscription, this painting was a birthday gift for Hu Lin (1889–1949), a native of Chengdu and a pioneer of the Chinese newspaper industry, known for boosting the circulation and influence of the Tianjin-based Ta Kung Pao. Yu Fei’an worked in the newspaper industry in his early days and maintained good relationships with its members even after he turned to painting full-time.

This painting depicts two paradise flycatchers amidst red leaves, both auspicious symbols for longevity. The red leaves denote smoke trees in mid-autumn on Shou’an Mountain located on the outskirts of Beijing. Yu faithfully replicates the round shape and texture of the leaves, and renders their striking colours with cinnabar red on one side and light ochre on the other. The pair of paradise flycatchers face each other, one chirping and reaching downwards and the other turned back in response. Their bodies are coloured light yellow, and their heads rendered in light ink washes, creating a harmonious and elegant contrast with the red leaves. Yu’s use of colour here is derived from Tang-dynasty paintings and is consistent with his studies of Court Beauty Wearing Hairpin attributed to Zhou Fang, one of the very few Tang paintings to have survived until present day.