‘CAT UNDER THE MOON’, BY HU ZAOBIN (1897-1942), AFTER A PAINTING BY KISHI CHIKUDO (1826-1897)

拍品描述

‘CAT UNDER THE MOON’, BY HU ZAOBIN (1897-1942), AFTER A PAINTING BY KISHI CHIKUDO (1826-1897) China. Ink, gouache, and watercolors on paper. Mounted as a hanging scroll in a paper frame. Finely painted in delicate brushstrokes, depicting a white cat poised upon a gnarled willow branch beneath the pale full moon. The feline is rendered with meticulous attention to its soft fur, alert expression, and outstretched paws, while slender willow branches and leaves extend gracefully across the composition. A small mantis perched among the foliage provides a lively counterpoint to the cat. Inscriptions: To the center right, signed ‘Zaobin’, with the artist’s seal mark, ‘Hu shi hua yin’. With a tag inscribed ‘Hu Zaobin, Cat under the moon’. Dimensions: Image size 104 x 45.9 cm, size incl. frame 181.6 x 55.5 cm Hu Zaobin (1897–1942) was a Guangdong-born Chinese painter celebrated particularly for his dynamic depictions of tigers and other animals. He studied Western painting methods at the Kyoto Municipal School of Arts and Crafts in Japan, an experience that contributed to his distinctive synthesis of Chinese and Western approaches. After returning to China, he established the Yeuk Yue Painting Research Institute in Guangzhou in 1915 and became associated with the Lingnan tradition of combining Chinese painting with Western techniques. His animal paintings, especially his tigers, are noted for their vivid expression and energetic handling. Works by Hu Zaobin are today preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and other major institutions. The present cat painting closely resembles Kishi Chikudo’s (1826-1897) ‘Cat under the moon’, one of the last works from the Japanese artist, and awarded the second-place silver medal in the 9th Japan Art Association Autumn Exhibition in October 1896. It is quite likely that Hu Zaobin painted it while studying in Japan, where he would have come in contact with Kishi Chikudo’s work, who also painted tigers. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 7 October 2012, lot 1137 Price: HKD 112,500 or approx. EUR 17,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the similar feline subject and brushwork.

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