Description/
Chen Cheng-po completed this painting during his third year at the Normal Education Division in Painting, Tokyo School of Fine Arts (some attribute it to his graduation work). Turning away from his familiar Western medium, he tries his hands on glue color painting, which is also known as nihonga (literally, Japanese-style painting). With great care, he depicts the hair, arched eyebrows and garment motif of the lady and the branches and leaves. Sitting with her knees folded sideways and absorbed in deep thought with her chin tucked in, she exudes the graceful temperament that typifies Eastern females. The viewer's eyes are gradually guided from her pale face and hands to her white socks, and finally to the void on the right of the composition, the fading red leaves on the ground suggesting a change in the depth of field. The large void defined by the lady's profile and the branches not only forms a background but also underpins a visual balance by anchoring and harmonizing the composition. Based on her posture and expression, some scholars have attributed Chen's inspiration for this painting to Kuroda Seiki's 1901 female nude in oil.
Bibliography/
- Chuanying Yen, The Complete Collection of Taiwanese Art 1: Chen Cheng-Po (Taipei City: Artist Publishing, 1992), 230.
- Yuchun Lin, Oil‧Passion‧Chen Cheng-Po (Taipei City: Lion Art Publishing, 1998), 43.
- Suchu Li, Painting "Something"—A Study on the Stylistic Maturation of Chen Cheng-Po (1895~1947) (Chiayi City: Chiayi City Cultural Affairs Bureau, 2005), 18-19.
- Soka Arts and Cultural Center Committee ed., Under the Searing Sun: A Solo Exhibition by Chen Cheng-Po (Taipei City: Chin-Shuan Cultural & Educational Foundation, 2012), 159.
(0)
