Lot 254: GUO BOCHUAN

GUO BOCHUAN 1901-1974 NUDE Signed in Chinese and dated 54 (Minguo calendar) ( upper left) Executed in 1965 Oil on paper 17 by 35.7 cm.; 6 3/4 by 14 in.

Private Asian Collection

Guo Bochuan is one of the most important artists in the history of modern art in Taiwan. In 1928, he entered the Western Painting Department at the Tokyo Academy of Fine Art and studied under Okada Saburosuke. The steady and rigorous training in life drawing that Guo received whilst studying in Japan built a solid foundation for his later artistic creation. While experimenting with Expressionism, Gu Bochuan mainly used impressionistic techniques in his early work. In 1937, he went to Beiping and taught Western painting at the China Academy of Fine Arts and the Western Painting Department of the Beiping Art School. During his 12-years' sojourn in Beiping, his art underwent critical changes. The cityscape and landscape of the ancient capital of Beiping enticed him to walk around outside his studio. Inspired by the rich color palette of local temples and folk graphics, he no longer limited himself to dull coffee and khaki colours; instead he added livelier colour tones such as red, green and azure into his work. Whilst in Beiping, Guo also became acquainted with the ink-painting master Huang Binghong. Inspired by all these different cultures, he started to think about how to infuse traditional Chinese culture into Western painting styles. Guo realized that after hundreds of years, the condition of ink on paper paintings was much better than that of oil on canvas works. Therefore, from 1943 onwards, Guo painted oil paintings on rice paper and created a series of wonderful works on paper of nudes, landscapes and still lives.[1] He committed himself to this artistic practice for 30 years and created an expressive vocabulary that was uniquely his. From the works in this sale, the importance of these works on paper in his oeuvre is clear.

In 1947, Guo Bochuan returned to Taiwan from Beiping. His art had reached a stage of maturity and perfection. He had mastered the technique of painting with oil colors on rice paper, as seen in the vivid colors and skilled brushwork of his 1965 work Nude. Within the azure and Prussian blue background, Guo has used his classic vermilion lines to depict a reclining female nude and then filled in the structure and volume of the human body with red, pink and skin-colour tones. The posture of the female nude corresponds with the dynamics of the composition and the texture of the canvas and shows a natural beauty.

Guo Bochuan was born in Tainan. When middle-aged he returned to Tainan, and often used the local attractions as the theme for his works. Works created in this period are full of his love for the local culture. Confucian Temple, Tainan is representative of this theme. The logical and orderly architectural structure of temples in Taiwan and their unique colouring of vermilion and blue are clearly shown in this work. The children cycling and playing within the temple grounds reminds the viewer of the sunny, leisurely afternoons of childhood. Guo Bochuan's work is fresh and natural. His depiction of landscapes and objects is neither realistic nor based on rules of perspective. Instead, after careful personal observation, he transmits his emotions into the work and therefore creates a world full of lively imagery on the paper.

[1] "Refined and Beautiful Emotions—On Kuo Po-chuan's Life and Art" by Huang Cailang. In Taiwan Art Collection 10: Kuo Po-chuan, Artists Publishing House, Taipei, 1993, pp.23-4.