Description/
By 1929, Chen Cheng-po had already graduated from the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and was teaching in Shanghai. In the following year, his family moved to Shanghai to live with him. With the family finally together again after extended time apart, he began to paint portraits for them. The subject in Little Brother is the then five-year-old Chen Tsung-kuang, the eldest son. In this full figure, the young boy stands with his left hand holding onto a chair and right hand in pocket. He looks guileless and adorable wearing a red embroidered top and pants and a round knitted hat above his plump and ruddy face, the clothing suggesting it was wintertime. His height is reference by the chair and coffee table. The clothing of a portrayed person and the furnishing also offer clues to painter's lifestyle. Chen included furniture into the picture: the tabletop and seat cushion bend forward in a non-perspective. Patterns on the carpet, chair legs and cushion are carefully delineated whereas the background is left plain, giving this child portrait a sumptuous visual effect.
Bibliography/
- Chuanying Yen, The Complete Collection of Taiwanese Art 1: Chen Cheng-Po (Taipei City: Artist Publishing, 1992), 233.
- Yuchun Lin, Oil‧Passion‧Chen Cheng-Po (Taipei City: Lion Art Publishing, 1998), 80.
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