LOT DETAILS

Materials:

Pastel on paper

Measurements:

26.57 in. (67.50 cm.) (height) by 17.32 in. (44.00 cm.) (width)

Description:

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Markings:

Signed in Chinese（lower right）

Provenance:

PROVENANCE： Acquired directly from the artist’s wifeOnce the idea that impressionistic masters brought the glory of pastels back to the French painting circle is accepted， we can say confidently that Li Chaoshi， completely by himself， presented the spirit and soul of pastels to modern art in China and well deserves what the circle honors him with， the first person in China’s pastel painting.Li was one of the first Chinese artists that traveled to Europe to study Western painting. He was also the first master that popularized pastel painting in China and made distinctive achievements. After the Xinhai Revolution in 1911， Li， as one of the first beneficiaries of government funding， went to Britain to study music and fine arts and established himself one of the three gentlemen in China that first embraced Western-European culture， the other two being Wu Fading and Fang Junbi. A year later in 1912， he went to the Serman Painting School in Paris and specialized in painting. In 1913， he was admitted to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris and joined the studio of Edgar Degas. While in Europe， he paid multiple visits to Italy， Germany， Greece， Belgium and other countries， studied in a dedicated manner the masterpieces of prestigious painters throughout the history of Western Europe， and won gold medals in art several times. In 1918 he graduated from the École and returned to China in 1919， after which time he worked as professor of Western painting in Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts， Peking National College of Art and Hangzhou National College of Art. After the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan， he returned to Hangzhou and continued to serve as professor of Western painting. From 1951， he worked in the School of Art at Shandong Normal College and devoted his whole life to the creation and teaching of pastels.Patel painting has a long tradition in the Western society. In the 17th and 18th centuries， it reached a climax through the development of portraits： the pure color and soft brushstrokes that colored chalk brings with itself were perfect to express the smooth skin of human body， and therefore pastel painting was deeply loved by the royal family aristocrats and got known as“the art of aristocrats”. In 1789 the French Revolution led to the overthrow of the aristocratic class， and pastel painting was given low profile. It was till the rise of impressionism that pastel painting got reborn and ushered into a new era. The delicate and flamboyant texture of pastels was well in line with the impressionistic aspirations to deliver visual experience， light textures and vitality. Degas， with his talented creations in pastel painting， promoted the development of this genre to a peak.Li Chaoshi once talked about the reasons why he followed Degas to study pastel painting.“Sketching is rational and therefore resembles a thesis， while color is emotional and thus a poetry； using pastels to paint， on the other hand， enables me to combine reason and sensibility exquisitely. And this is why I love it.”Li’s works， featuring bright colors and brisk styles， not only inherit the essence of Degas’ painting， but highlight his highly personal style. His composition fully demonstrates characteristics of traditional Chinese painting with careful distinctions between the sparse and the dense as well as smooth and simple lines. Li also take full advantage of the background color of the drawing paper and give play to the artistic effects of pastel painting， making his pastel pieces particularly bewitching. Li’s pastel and oil paintings created while he was in France and in the early years when he returned to China were all destroyed or lost in the war， and now there are just over 80 pieces that can be recovered. This piece， Ball Cactus in Blossom， is a personal gift to our collector by Mrs. Li in honor of the many years of friendship between our collector and the painter and is of great value. The overall picture is beautiful， refreshing and full of vitality. Whether it is the flowers in bud or those in full blossom， Li manages to demonstrate their tender texture using only the subtle combination of colors. The simple and elegant background color reduces the purity of color in the whole picture. The color application around the flowers， in particular， enjoys soft brushstrokes and a localized texture which looks like that created by the technique of cun（literally“wrinkles”） using charcoals. Also the background color that slightly protrudes from the drawing paper endows the picture with elegance and subtle changes. In Li’s works， all things in nature reveal a reserved power， through which solemnity and elegance coexist harmoniously and through which the poetry in life is fully demonstrated.