Lot 1020: YANG SANLANG

YANG SANLANG
(1907-1995)
Still Life
Inscribed in English (upper left)
oil on canvas
65 x 80 cm. (25 5/8 x 31 1/2 in.)

Tainan Art Collection Association, Taiwan Art - Part II, Tainan, Taiwan, 2000 (illustrated, p. 99).

In Still Life (Lot 1020), the richness of the household objects in warm and solid earth colour tones, a colour palette rarely employed by Yang Sanlang are highlighted by his simple addition of trace amount of cool colours to depict the light reflected by the table. Despite the simple colour tone, the artist uses dark reddish brown in the shadow to highlight the objects and create the effect of contour. Classical Realism in the West tends to employ brown colour tone and fine brushstrokes to present still life objects; Yang Sanlang, however, without slightest hesitation, fills the still life with direct and abundant emotions by using bold brushstrokes. The orange and reddish brown colours interweave to present the fine and smooth texture of the pottery urn; and with a few strokes, variations of light are manifested in the three apples on the table. The artist did not merely paint the grapes on the plate with purple, but made use of the reflection from the surrounding colours to present the gloss of the grape skin. Shadows seen at the top left corner and the bottom right corner provide a background for the red round tabletop, which symbolizes reunion in traditional Chinese culture. The delicate tonal variation in the background comes from Yang's skillful blending of diverse colours. The artist uses this blend of colour in under layer of paint, and deliberately exposes it with startling effect. On one hand, the exposed underpainting balances the colours and allows modeling to be obtained within the composition; on the other hand, it forms a contrast with the direct perception of the objects in the foreground. Thus this complex use of colour and rendering effectively allow viewers to visualize the sentiments of the artist.