Description/
The Tokyo School of Fine Arts where Chen Cheng-po studied was an orthodox high-level art school in Japan that exerted great influence on the development of contemporary art in Japan. Its Western Painting Division was founded in 1896 and instructed by Kuroda Seiki. He introduced Japan to concepts he learned in France, especially the hiring of models and the genre of nude painting. It is therefore impossible to overlook the training Chen received there when discussing the style of his female nudes.
Chen tends to divide his nude composition into a few different volumes and simplify depiction of the face, so the viewer is led to focus on the body structure, contour lines and color palette. In this work, his juxtaposition of the female nude with the ocean recalls the Birth of Venus, a common mythical theme in Western painting. Her classic posture and the plate of two apples reveal the painter's academic training in art.
Bibliography/
- Suchu Li, "Chen Cheng-Po and Academic Painting: Starting from the Classic Postures of Female Nudes as Depicted in Chen’s Wash Sketches," in Nostalgia in the Vast Universe: Commemorative Exhibition of Chen Cheng-Po, ed. Huifang Wu and Meichen Tseng (Kaohsiung City: Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, 2011), 26-33.
- Emiko Yamanashi, "A Major Characteristic of Chen Cheng-Po’s Nudes: on Comparison with Japanese Academic Paintings," in The Spring of Alishan—New Perceptions on Chen Cheng-Po and Taiwanese Art History (Taipei City: Chin-Shuan Cultural & Educational Foundation, 2013), 20-37.
Nude Female Lying and Resting by the Pond
1932
Materials & Techniques：Oil on canvas
Dimension：53x79 cm
Private Collection
