Lot 202: ZHOU BICHU

ZHOU BICHU 1903-1995 AZALEA Signed in Chinese (lower left) Executed in 1983 oil on canvas 44.5 by 53 cm.; 17 1/2 by 20 7/8 in.

Private Asian Collection

Zhou Bichu was one of the early pioneers of Western oil painting in China. In 1925 he went to France to study at the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux Arts and was good friends with his fellow classmates Yan Wenliang, Lin Fengmian and Xu Beihong. After returning to China in 1930, Zhou Bichu joined the art collective the Silent Society, formed by Lin Fengmian, as well as the Storm Society. The artist became well-known for his landscape and still life paintings. This work Azalea was painted in the 1980s and demonstrates the artist's skilled technique and unique use of colour combinations . The pink and white of the azaleas and the blue and green in the leaves and the background contrast beautifully, whilst the laborious and complicated short brushstrokes used in the background bring a feeling of anger to the composition.