In 1948, Zao Wou-ki and his wife Xie Jinglan travelled to Paris, France. Upon arriving in Paris, they immediately headed to the Louvre and other temples of art to pay homage, and also became frequent visitors of la Grande Chaumière. At this time, World War II had ended and the Paris art scene flourished as countless outstanding artists from around the world flocked to the city and enriched the post-war Parisian art scene. Diverse cultural backgrounds and art forms such as Informal Art and other popular art genres of the era all heavily influenced Zao’s artistic vocabulary.

Zao Wou-ki once stated that in 1950, his paintings had not yet fully taken shape but were just beginning to evolve. He had previously attempted lithographs with only three chromatic pigments, in which the composition style of simple lines that delineated his themes could also be found in his later oil paintings. The small-scale work of exquisite fineness “14.09.50” created in 1950 clearly exhibits Zao’s study of lines and precision of configuration. In this piece, he conducted figurative painting purely through the use of lines, a style that was rarely seen amongst Chinese painters of the time. These simple geometric figures ablated form and generated a simple dialogue of color, constructing a harmonious space of serenity that invites its viewers to roam, linger, and repose within. In keeping with the traditional Chinese artistic concept of leaving blanks upon the canvas, Zao embodied the sublimation of the tangible world with intangible spiritual dimensions in accordance with Chinese philosophical thoughts in metaphysical spirituality. Zao disliked being categorized as a painter of “scenery.” He believed that the term evokes stereotypical ideas of landscape, precisely the qualities he most desperately wanted to shake off upon arriving in Paris. At the same time, he employed only monotone colors like blue, yellow and green to compose “14.09.50”. By foregoing the integration of multiple colors, he has instead created a purer, vaster world of poetic meaning.

The inscription on the painting “A Lanlan pour l’Anniversaire” means “To Lan Lan Happy Birthday”. This was dedicated by Zao to his first wife Xie Jinglan, who had accompanied him every step of the way. The two had known each other since 1935, fell in love and married, and travelled to Paris hand in hand to pursue further artistic attainments. “14.09.50” is a work of profound affections symbolizing Zao’s sincere appreciation of the fifteen years of companionship given to him by his first wife Xie Jinglan and the embodiment of his deep, undying love.