Chen Yifei

signed in pinyin
executed in the 1990s.

Private European Collection

Beijing, National Art Museum of China, China Realism 2006 Oil Painting Exhibition, October 14 - 23, 2006

China Realism, Liaoning Art Publishing House, Shenyang, 2006, p.16, illustrated in colour
A Selection of China Realism Oil Paintings 2, Tianjin Yaoliuqing Fine Art Press, 2006, p. 2, illustrated in colour
China Realism, Jilin Meishu Press, Changchun, 2006

This work is in very good condition. There is evidence of light dust and very tiny dots of paint losses scattered across the surface of the painting, only visible under very close examination. There is a horizontal crease about 30 cm in length at the centre of the surface, only visible under close examination and presumably inherent to the artist’s working method. There is no evidence of restoration under UV.
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Chen Yifei was no stranger to depicting musicians. During his study abroad in America, the artist took part in restoring many great masterpieces. Having gained a deep understanding of Western Classicism and its Realism traditions , Chen began his own series of paintings of Western musicians infatuated in their world of symphony. Subsequently, the subject matter adapted a Chinese cultural context which Chen was familiar of.

Lady Holding a Lute was a visual manifestation of the ultimate Chinese beauty. Sat elegantly, the female figure leaned her lute softly on her lap while her sleek arms gently wrapped around its rounded base and supported its neck. As if startled by an unexpected beholder, the lady paused her preparation and timidly lifted up her tantalising gaze. The moment of encounter was so spontaneous and natural, titillating our every senses.  Her innocent expression and graceful flair was a reminiscence of the noble women depicted on Raphael's canvas. Besides her astounding beauty, her delicate fingers captured our attention. Her fingers tenderly twined around her lute, their slenderness enhanced by her porcelain complexion of her exposing forearm. Traditionally described as an 'orchid position', every single finger tip emanated her oriental femininity. If a comparison was made with the Pre-Raphaelite painter William Holman Hunt's Bianca, it was striking to see the parallels between two and Chen's Lady Holding a Lute acted as a testimony to the perfect incorporation of the Western tradition of portraiture and the Eastern emphasis of the subject's aura.