Wang Yidong

WANG YIDONG (Chinese, B. 1955) Bird of Luck signed 'Wang Yidong' in Pinyin; dated '2003 (upper left); signed and dated in Chinese (lower left) oil on canvas 38 x 45.5 cm. (15 x 17 7/8 in.) Painted in 2003 Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, China Acquired from the above by the present owner Schoeni Art Gallery Ltd., Wang Yi Dong: Drawings & Sketches, exh. cat., Hong Kong, China, 2003 (illustrated, pp. 10-11). China has undergone political upheavals throughout the 20th century. Since the 1949 establishment, Chinese art started to show its departure from traditional ink paintings. People's lives, as a central subject for the new generation of art, have become the source of inspiration to both art and literature. The authority intentionally sent artists to factories, countryside or the army, and used art as merely an instrument to serve politics, cutting off any sort of liberal thoughts. When the Cultural Revolution came to an end in 1976, a representational depiction of common life has already become the main subject in art creation. Realism became the main stream in the development of Chinese oil paintings. Wang Yidong is a leading figure among artists working in the realm of realist classical paintings. Wang was born in a mountain village of Shandong Yimeng, the rural scenery has been deeply imprinted in his mind and constantly reflected in his works. The mountain villagers have also become a main source for his artistic creation. In figure paintings, Wang is known for impeccable depiction of young girls' expression and posture. He is also famous for using symbolic objects to express visual meanings. "Chinese red", "magpies" and "cats" are often seen in the background of the portraiture. Bird of Luck (Lot 169) was created in 2003. Wang Yidong, in his signature style, painted a blue magpie behind the young girl who occupies the foreground. The symbolic meaning of magpie is extremely rich and auspicious in Chinese culture, it brings good fortune and happiness. Magpie is always cheerfully described in Chinese poems and couplet scrolls. Legend goes that on Chinese Valentine's Day magpies would fly to the Milky Way every year to make up a bridge for the rendezvous between Niulang and Zhinv, the cowherd and the weaving girl who are lovers but forced to be separated. Thus the magpies represent luck, joy and love. In the painting, the girl dressed up in red creates a jubilant atmosphere and her youthful face shows her great anticipation for happiness. A blue magpie flying behind the girl expresses the hope that the girl's happiness would finally arrive in near future.

LOT 650 WANG YIDONG B.1955 A: BRIDE-TO-BE; B: PEONY; C: DAUGHTER VISITING PARENTS AT CHINESE NEW YEAR; D: DAUGHTER VISITING PARENTS AT CHINESE NEW YEAR [FOUR WORKS] signed in pinyin and Chinese, titled, dated 2007 and numbered 52/99 executed in 2007, this work is number 52 from an edition of 99. lithograph A: 61.5 by 41 cm. 24 1/4 by 16 1/8 in. B: 53 by 41 cm. 20 7/8 by 16 1/8 in. C: 41 by 51.5 cm. 16 1/8 by 20 1/4 in. D: 41 by 40.3 cm. 16 1/8 by 15 7/8 in.

Lot Description WANG YIDONG (Chinese, B. 1955) Portrait signed in Chinese; dated 'Wang Yidong' in Pinyin; dated '2000' (lower right) oil on canvas 60.5 x 50 cm. (23 7/8 x 19 1/2 in.) Painted in 2000 Provenance Schoeni Art Gallery, Hong Kong, China Acquired from the above by the present owner Pre-Lot Text Property from the Anna Maria Jagdfeld Collection of Contemporary Chinese Art View Lot Notes › Following the reform and opening-up of China in 1978, the vision of Chinese artists were suddenly widened, as they suddenly had new opportunities to study Western history of art and modern art developments comprehensively. This differed profoundly from their unilateral education in oil painting from the Soviet Union in from the 1950s onwards. Now oil painting became a means of rational thinking, instead of the political propagandist tool it has previously been. Chinese art academies gradually became the testing grounds of modern art. These are among the major paths in which Chinese art broke away from its history of mimesis and blindness, moving instead towards a new classicism rooted in a rediscovered pride in Chinese national culture. Artists were now free to explore their personal ideas and cultural self-awareness in highly individualistic creations. Even in the realm of realistic paintings, there has been a flourishing of styles and ideas. Through understanding the works of Ai Xuan, Wang Yidong, Li Guijun, Chen Yifei and Chen Yanning, we can get a glimpse of the Chinese artists that have stayed true to their training in academic realism, and how their reinterpretation of those techniques, along with their own personal experiences have helped to create such multidimensional movement. Wang Yidong: Beauty of the Orient Wang Yidong was born in Linyi County in Shandong, whose Yi-meng mountain region still preserves ancient customs and traditions and is also one of the areas in which the China's late Neolithic Longshan culture arose. Wang has worked steadfastly to develop a kind of oil painting that is thoroughly Chinese in character, honoring its great cultural traditions and rituals. He places heavy demands on himself in terms of composition and the modeling of his subjects, believing that "it is through shaping forms as rigorously as you can that you communicate a personal feeling." In Portrait (Lot 2124), created in 2000, from the Anna Maria Jagdfeld Collection, Wang deliberately recreated the 15th century European Renaissance portraits of royalty through his form and composition, establishing a dialogue between the cultures of the east and the west. Such comparison accentuates the unique Oriental beauty and spirit. Bounded by social norms, 15th century female portraits of the West could not be painted with frontally, unlike their male counterparts. Hence, a profile is the only solution so that direct eye contact can be avoided between the sitters in the painting with the viewers. In order to illustrate their social status and wealth, the sitters would wear knitted velvet clothing complemented with jewels and accessories, displaying their poised and elegant within the limitations of the portraiture genre. Wang conveyed the unique spirit of the village girl through the format of a Western royal portrait. The special composition of such paintings let go of the traditional three-dimensionality and perspectives, making the two-dimensional design central to the composition. The contour of her profile, the floral-patterned clothing and the flowers at the background covers the surface of the canvas. Colouring it with the flat-coating technique, the artist reinforces the two-dimensionality of the graphic design. The ethnic clothing wore by the little girl is not accompanied by elaborate jewelry, but a simple headdress instead; yet it shows a refined sense of elegance and grace that expresses the traditional Chinese beauty. The background of budding white flowers further complements the oriental sensation that surges from the implicit purity of the young girl.

LOT 639 WANG YIDONG B. 1955 A: BRIDE-TO-BE; B: PEONY; C: DAUGHTER VISITING PARENTS AT CHINESE NEW YEAR; D: DAUGHTER VISITING PARENTS AT CHINESE NEW YEAR [FOUR WORKS] signed in pinyin and Chinese, titled, dated 2007 and numbered 53/99 Executed in 2007, this work is number 53 from an edition of 99. lithography A: 61.7 by 41.3 cm. 24 1/4 by 16 1/4 in. B: 53.5 by 40.6 cm. 21 by 16 in. C: 51.5 by 41 cm. 20 1/4 by 16 1/8 in. D: 40.8 by 41 cm. 16 by 16 1/8 in.

LOT 777 WANG YIDONG B. 1955 WEDDING NIGHT THIS IS A PREMIUM LOT. CLIENTS WHO WISH TO BID ON PREMIUM LOTS MAY BE REQUESTED BY SOTHEBY'S TO COMPLETE THE PRE-REGISTRATION APPLICATION FORM AND TO DELIVER TO SOTHEBY'S A DEPOSIT OF HK$1,000,000, OR SUCH OTHER HIGHER AMOUNT AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY SOTHEBY'S, AND ANY FINANCIAL REFERENCES, GUARANTEES AND/OR SUCH OTHER SECURITY AS SOTHEBY'S MAY REQUIRE IN ITS ABSOLUTE DISCRETION AS SECURITY FOR THEIR BID. THE BIDnow ONLINE BIDDING SERVICE IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR PREMIUM LOTS. signed in pinyin and Chinese and dated 1994 executed in 1994. oil on canvas 105 by 138 cm. 41 3/8 by 54 3/8 in.