A masterpiece by prominent Chinese artist Xu Beihong was
auctioned on Saturday at a record 72 million Hong Kong dollars
(about US$9.2 million) for a Chinese oil painting.
"This afternoon we set a new record for any Chinese painting at
auction, trumping the previous record, also by the artist and by a
huge amount," said Evelyn Lin, head of Contemporary Chinese Art
Department of Sotheby's.
Sotheby's had said the 1939 painting of an anti-Japanese street
play, "Put Down Your Whip," was expected to fetch at least 30
million Hong Kong dollars (US$3.8 million dollars).
The painting was bought by an anonymous collector over the
telephone after competition from at least four other bidders. "This
painting is of historic value because this is Xu's only painting
with the theme of anti-Japanese aggression," said Lin.
Drawn in 1939, the painting, 144 cm high and 90 cm wide, was
completed during Xu's stay in Singapore at the highest peak of his
artistic power.
Inspired by an anti-Japanese street drama of the same title
staged by Xu's actress friend, Wang Ying, during his stay, the
painting depicts Lady Shang before a crow and captures the spirit
of the Chinese people against the backdrop of the Anti-Japanese War.
Deeply moved by the patriotic motive of the drama, Xu blended
this sentiment with meticulous brushstrokes and delicately
portrayed the female protagonist in the foreground while
realistically and vividly rendering the audience at the
background.
Having disappeared from public view for the last half century,
its exhibition at Sotheby's marked the first time the masterpiece
was on public view since 1954, a year after Xu died.
Xu's work is the highlight of the auction house's Contemporary
Chinese Art sale, offering 180 lots of Chinese art pieces.
The last record that Xu set was in November 2006 when his work
"Slave and Lion" was sold at Christie's for 53.88 million Hong Kong
dollars (US$6.9 million).
(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2007)
