Author: LIN FENGMIAN 林风眠

Size: 109×78cm

Signed and dated: Painted in 1920s

Estimate:

Final Price: RMB 16,500,000

LITERATURE
1929 Revised Beauty of the Bodies / Shanghai Guanghua Publishing House
signed in Chinese
PROVENANCE
Imporatant Asian private collection
“Thoughts” was created in 1920，one of the very rare artworks of Lin’s early paintings that depicts women with realism. The return of this artwork helps complement the lack of historical data of Lin’s and tidies up the chronicle sequence of Lin’s artwork. The study of Lin’s works is not easy，as a number of his artworks were damaged and went missing during War of Resistance Against Japan and Cultural Revolution. According to the timeframe “Thoughts” was created，it was done either when Lin was still studying in Paris or just back to China teaching in National Beiping Art College. This work was published in “Body Art”，Guang Hua being the publisher of the book. Gua Hua was a bookstore located along Shang Hai Si Ma Road back during the period of the republic of China. Although this store did not last long，it helped publish multiple books that aim to advertise the New Culture，resulting in great influence.
Lin’s paintings have two very different styles in 1920s，one being Naturalism，influenced by the European classical tradition，another being the contemporary style，inspired by the Expressionism and Impressionism in German. These two different styles are not entirely independent，but affecting one another，which can be shown in “Thoughts”. While following the European realism as a foundation，Lin has used advanced concepts and techniques，and despite the fact that realism has never been Lin’s signature，it indicates his style changes later one. in 1950s，Lin used bright colors in his Autumn series，simple geometries in his Painting of maids and all these indicate such change of painting styles.
1920s were considered to be the enlightening stage of Lin’s. In his early years，he was educated by the Chinese traditional painting，and while studying in Paris，his understanding towards Chinese traditional art was further deepened. In 1921，Lin was admitted by École nationale supérieure d’art de Dijon to study Western painting. The mainstream European painting style back then has already transformed from Classical realism to modernism. The most popular styles were the fauvism and cubism. Matisse and Picasso have more or less influenced Lin，but such influence was only shown in Lin’s works of landscape and theatre paintings in 1940s. During this lifestage，Lin was still indulged in naturalism，and one of the most influential impact was from Yanccsse from École nationale supérieure d’art de Dijon and Prof. Prenom from école nationale supérieure des Beaux-arts de Paris. Yanccsse inspired him to broaden the horizon while learn from Chinese art，and this mindset was the foundation of Lin’s painting style. Lin has also developed solid sketching foundations，accepting various art forms，all of which assisted him with the transformation of arts in the future.
“Thoughts” is an elegant portrait. By making use of diagonal structure，the entire painting is very balanced and stable. The female in the painting shares a very similar pose as the “Naked Woman” sculpture created by Yanccsse. She was leaning on the pillow，with one hand supporting her entire body weight another resting casually on her lap. With her legs crossing one another，head slightly looking up and eyes squinting，it seems that she is submerged in her deep thought under the afternoon sun. Lin cut down on painting the detail but rely on large areas of shadows from the afternoon sun to show the smooth shape of the female body. This lures viewers to think of one of Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol’s sculptures，Mediterranean. Yanccsse is one of Maillol’s followers，and the latter is known for portraiting female figure，using which as a metaphor for nature. Lin could have been influenced by both Yanccsse and Maillol when creating “Thoughts”. He used simple yet powerful sculpting language to depict a plump woman and such female figure shows power，a power from motherhood.
In terms of the structure of the paintings，it is clear to see the influence of European academy on Lin’s work. Professor Prenom has painted naked women in both “the Abandoned Love” and “Palace Ladies”. Although his paintings delivers various thoughts and confusing dramatic feelings，those paintings follow the traditions from Classic paintings. The naked women he created have very precise postures，clear color contrast and accurate use of lights. It is the same for “Thoughts”. Lin used simple solid colors，placed the main characters in a scene that viewers can relate. It was so realistic that it reminds viewers of the early works of BeI Hong Xu. In the background，Lin used both warm and cool tones，together with shade and lights，viewers are able to see movements even in the still painting. At the same time，Lin was rather unique. In the picture，the pose of the female character was rather distorted that both of her calfs and right arms are hidden in the shades，yet the character herself looked rather stable. This shows Lin’s ability of independent thinking and also prepares for his later works of “Maids” series.
To sum up，“Thoughts” represents one of the most unforgettable period of time in Lin’s art life，while holds great aesthetic value and contributes to the study of Chinese art history.