Lot 315: PAN YULIANG 1895-1977

Signed Yuliang in Chinese. The reverse, a label stating Pan's address in France during that time and the title of the painting in French

oil on canvas, framed

50 by 65 cm. 19 3/4 by 25 1/2 in.

Paintings of Pan Yuliang from a Private French Collection (Lot 315-317)

Pan Yuliang is one of the most legendary female painters in the course of Chinese art history. Following the death of both of her parents, she was sold to a brothel. Her life took a different turn when she met a prominent man named Pan Zanhua who bought her out of the brothel and married her as concubine. She began to study painting from Hong Ye. In 1918, she was accepted into the Shanghai Art Institute where she studied after Wang Jiyuan and Zhu Qizhan. She left for France in 1921 and graduated from the Paris National Academy of Fine Arts. Pan eventually returned to her motherland in 1928 as an educator, teaching art at the Shanghai Art Institute, the Najing Central Academy of Arts, and the Shanghai Xinhua Art Institute. In 1937, she moved back to Paris where she remained until her death in 1977.

With a recalcitrant spirit and defiance toward mankind, Pan Yuliang has wholeheartedly delved into the pursuit of her artistic aspirations throughout her life. Within the forty more years she spent in Paris, she has participated in numerous salon exhibitions and received many awards. Her works are collected by many important museums including the Museum of Modern Art in Paris and Musee Cernuschi.

These three paintings belong to an overseas Chinese collector living in France. He acquired them from the original owner who obtained them from the artist herself. Lot 317 "Cows", was a gift from Pan Yuliang to the original owner in his childhood between 1955 and 1957; Lot 315 "Bathers", was a wedding gift to the original owner in 1973; Lot 316 "Swimming Party" was a gift to the original owner's father. It can be inferred that Pan Yuliang must have had close relations with this family, with their friendship of over twenty years extending across two generations. The paintings reflect some of the themes which she was most well known for and the meticulous care and thought she had put into them. For instance, her selection of cow, the symbol for new life, as the subject of a gift for a young child reflects the sincere thought she instilled in these pictures.