ZAO WOU-KI | Notre-Dame de Paris

labels of Arthur Lenars & Cie., Maurice Robinot, Cadby-Birch Gallery, and The 7 Brothers, Fine Arts Division affixed to the stretcher on the reverse

Cadby-Birch Gallery, New York
Private American Collection
Sotheby’s, Taipei, 14 April 1996, Lot 37
Private Collection
Ravenel, Hong Kong, 25 November 2012, Lot 522
Acquired directly from the above by the present important private Asian collector

Yves Bonnefoy & Gérard de Cortanze, ed., Zao Wou-Ki, editions La Différence / Enrico Navarra, Paris, 1998, p. 88

The work is overall in good condition.
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An Artistic Journey after the War Travel and cultural exchange spark creativity. When an enlightened mind and curious eyes meet an inspiring place and inspiring people, artistic breakthroughs happen naturally. At the turn of the 20th century, the first generation of modern Asian artists went abroad and observed foreign cultures with their Asian perspectives. The works that they created greatly expanded the horizons of traditional Asian art. Soon after the world returned to peace after the Second World War, Asian artists again left their home countries en masse. Zao Wou-Ki, one of the most important Asian masters of this generation, spent 65 years in the West. His artistic journey marked the beginning of Post-War Asian art.

 In 1948, Zao Wou-Ki left China for Paris to begin the next chapter of his career. Until the early 1950's, his painting style remained figurative. Trained at the National School of Fine Art in Hangzhou, he had already been well versed in early modernism. Now, experiencing the natural environments and the cultural treasures of Europe first-hand, he was moved to create. Notre-Dame de Paris (Lot 5048) is a representative work from the time of Zao Wou-Ki's arrival in Paris.

"Capacious generosity is the only light that can illuminate a great soul."
Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, 1831

Notre-Dame de Paris depicts the famous landmark of the French capital. Built in 1163, this solemn cathedral strikes a powerful monumental presence on the left side of the canvas, facing the viewer directly. The artist has modified the form of the cathedral according to his subjective perception, transforming the skyscraping verticality of Gothic architecture into an emphasis on four protruding and grounded central columns. As a result the cathedral comes across as a creature, full of force and vitality. At the same time, on the right side of the painting, Zao takes care to represent the scenes of the Petit-Pont-Cardinal-Lustiger and the Pont de l'Archevêché in the Fifth Arrondissement. On the foreground bridge, a tourist gazes distantly at the cathedral, seemingly a stand-in of the artist himself. The distant Pont de l'Archevêché is more clearly delineated. Beneath it a tour boat is passing, and behind it the Seine continues into the distance and meets the sky. The rising sun between the Seine and Notre-Dame infuses the entire scene with warmth.

When painting Notre-Dame de Paris, Zao Wou-Ki was already thinking deeply about how to reconcile Chinese and Western art. In his abstraction and simplification of forms, he drew important inspiration from the sharp lines of the bronzes of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, and from the innocent and unostentatious murals of the Han dynasty. At the same time, he was discovering the work of the modernist master Paul Klee, who was himself inspired by Asian art. These influences determined Zao Wou-ki's painting style between 1951 and 1954. In the present work, there are many brilliant details that deserve close attention. The complex variations in the lines of the cathedral are executed in highly dimensional brushwork that mimics the relief sculpture on the building. The mysterious and archaizing colours recall Han-dynasty brick carvings and instill in the painting not only a sense of natural light but also a theatrical air. The peacock greens and dark reds, recalling the patina of bronzes and Chinese vermillion, both allude to Asian civilization. The brilliant azure at the top edge of the painting suggests the ultramarine reserved for Virgin Mary's robes in early Renaissance paintings, and enlivens the main subject with an understated visual tension. These contests of Eastern and Western colour symbolisms serve to emphasise the transcendental nature of divinity. In front of this painting, one cannot help being reminded of the poetic universe of Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre-Dame.

Works by Zao Wou-Ki from his Klee Period have long been sought-after by collectors. Among them, landscape paintings in oil with clearly identifiable subjects such as Notre-Dame de Paris are very rare. Over the past three decades, only three or four such works have appeared in the international auction market. Works from this period of comparable size and quality have consistently surpassed the mark of HKD 150,000,000, indicating the tremendous value of the present painting.



This work will be included in the forthcoming Catalogue Raisonné currently being prepared by Françoise Marquet and Yann Hendgen (Information provided by Fondation Zao Wou-Ki)