CHEN SHAOMEI (1909-1954): SCHOLARS IN LANDSCAPE

CHEN SHAOMEI (1909-1954): 'SCHOLARS IN LANDSCAPE'
China, dated 1943. Ink, watercolors, and gouache on paper. Mounted as a hanging scroll, on a silk brocade coated paper frame with wooden handles. Depicting a house by the river with three scholars enjoying a cup of tea, all within a verdant landscape with pine trees framed by imposing rocks and mountains.
Inscriptions:
To the top-left, inscribed with a reference by the artist to the style of Guo Xi which he incorporated in this artwork. Dated ‘3rd month of the Guiwei year (corresponding to 1943)’. Signed ‘Shaomei Chen Yunzhang’, seal ‘Chen Yunzhang’.
Provenance:
British trade.
Condition:
Excellent condition with wear and very minor creasing. The brocade frame in very good condition with traces of age and minor foxing.
Dimensions: Image size 117 x 63 cm, Size incl. mounting 212 x 76.5 cm
Chen Shaomei (1909-1954
), also known as Chen Yunzhang, started studying under Jing Bei-Lo at the Chinese Brush Painting Research Association when he was just 15 years old. He is known as an excellent representative of the Northern School of Chinese Landscape Painting and is praised as the “First painter after Tang Yin.” He grew to fame at the young age of 20, developing new styles, methodologies, and genres which he built from studying the old masters of Chinese painting.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 April 2023, lot 3193
Price: HKD 1,079,500 or approx.
EUR 131,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: Chen Shaomei (1909-1954), Scholar under Pine Tree
Expert remark: Note the size (86.4 x 40.2 cm).