Lot 42
Enchantement de la lumiere
CHU Teh-chun (Chinese-French, 1920 - 2014)
1997
Oil on canvas
130 x 195 cm
Estimate
TWD 5,600,000-6,800,000
USD 175,000-212,500
Sold Price
TWD 9,170,000
USD 273,895
Signature
CHU TEH-CHUN in English and dated 98
Titled on the back "ECRITURE A L'AUBE " in French, signed CHU TEH-CHUN in English and Chinese, and dated 1998
EXHIBITED:
Chu Teh-chun 1987-2000, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, Sep. 28 - Nov. 26, 2000
ILLUSTRATED:
Chu Teh-chun 1987-2000, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2000, color illustrated, pp. 72-73
Chu Teh-chun, Galerie Enrico Navarra, Paris, 2000, color illustrated, pp. 252-253
Pierre Cabanne, Chu Teh-chun, Flammarion, Paris, 2000, color illustrated, no. 84, p. 198
+ OVERVIEW
Inspired by the 17th century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn, Chu Teh-chun made light, and particularly the play of light from ever-changing sources and angles, an important element in the composition of his paintings. This focus on the source and quality of light became the single most characteristic feature of his later work. "My paintings are brimming with light, as in fact they are a reflection of the light that is in my heart, the light of my very soul. As for a sense of movement, this may be evoked through the arrangement of lines, the structuring of space and variegating hues of color, which together create the specific rhythm of a painting. Yet even in a work with much force and impetus, I always strive to maintain an overall harmony, and even in my rougher and more unrestrained pictures I don't want to sacrifice intricacy and attention to details,"so said Chu Teh-chun himself. (cf. Xing Xiaozhou "Under the influence of both Eastern and Western culture have I found my own distinctive style of painting-Questions to Chu Teh-chun" Chu Teh-chun Exhibitions 1987-2000, Shanghai Museum, Sep 2000, p. 28)
In 1997, Chu Teh-chun was elected a member of the Institut de France. By this time, the artist had scaled the zenith of his talent with his own breed of variations on abstract vistas that are heavily imbued with the technique and poetic flavor of traditional Chinese landscape painting. In that same year, Chu also completed the painting "Enchantement de la lumiere". He employs balanced and mutually evocative structures, and enhances the composition's impact with strongly contrasting shades of mysterious blackish brown, bright white and yellow. Furthermore, strong sources of light, slabs of thickly applied forceful colors and sweeping strokes with a broad brush give ample and vivid expression to the artist's overflowing happiness and incisive insight into the human condition. All in all, this is one of Chu'masterpieces, dynamic and fresh both in conception and execution.
The 20th & 21st Century Chinese Art
Ravenel Autumn Auction 2005
Sunday, December 4, 2005, 12:00am