LIN FENGMIAN 林風眠 | STILL LIFE 立體靜物

Private Asian Collection

Christie's, Hong Kong, 24 May 2009, Lot 527

Acquired directly from the above by the present important private Asian collector 

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亞洲私人收藏

香港，佳士得，2009年5月24日，拍品編號527

現亞洲重要私人藏家直接購自上述拍賣

Sharon H. L. Pai, ed., Lin Feng Mian: Leader of Chinese Modernism Art, Asia Pacific Art Promotions Ltd., Taipei, 1999, p. 165

Cubism in Asia: unbound dialogues, National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 2005, p. 39

Lin & Keng Cultural Subjectivity of Oriental Aesthetics, Lin & Keng Gallery Inc., Taipei, 2007, p. 49

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〈林風眠：中國現代主義繪畫的先驅者〉白雪蘭編（台北，加拿大亞太國際藝術顧問有限公司，一九九九年），165頁

〈亞洲立體主義繪畫：越界對話〉（東京，國立近代美術館，二〇〇五年），39頁

〈大未來 文化主體性的新東方美學〉（台北，大未來畫廊藝術有限公司，二〇〇七年），49頁

 A Montage in a Geometric Sequence

In the early 1950s, Lin Fengmian moved from Hangzhou to Shanghai, stepping away from his career in education and embarking upon a golden era in his creative work. Socialist realism had become the dominant artistic style not long after the establishment of the People’s Republic, and the study of Impressionism, Cubism, or other avant-garde schools had become nearly non-existent. As Lin’s student Pan Qiliu recalled, when Zao Wou-Ki had been studying in France in the 1950s he subscribed to Western magazines on Lin Fengmian’s behalf, thus providing Lin an open channel to access cultural and social developments in the West and an important source for his exploration of Cubist structures. In this era, he created a series of ground-breaking experimental works, including Still Life (Lot 1011) and The Fisherman’s Revenge (Lot 1012), offered at this Autumn Sale. They represent two classic themes in Lin’s body of work from the 1950s: still lifes and theatrical subjects. Within the context of the artist’s background, collectors can better appreciate Lin Fengmian pioneering work and his contributions as the first artist in China to explore Cubism. 

Lin Fengmian once said, “Geometric modeling is the aesthetic foundation of Cubist painting.” Still Life and a series of other still life paintings from the 1950s are the best examples of his practical application of this theory. The compositions can be generally divided into two types. In one type, he juxtaposes two items, such as a vase of flowers and a dish of fruit. For example, Still Life with White Rose, from the Spring 2019 Sale, presents a vase of flowers and a dish of fruit on a table, with one on the left and one on the right, and one high and one low. This placement deftly balances the space, creating a clear and stable geometric composition. With this as a foundation, he would then increase the complexity of the compositions and add more objects. Still Life represents the second type, where Lin would create full compositions and the backgrounds with a more varied approach. This type emphasized rich compositions and the clear demarcation of planes, with the lines neatly ordering the shapes to create a smooth geometric harmony of lines and planes. In this painting, Lin deconstructs the real structures of the objects then reassembles them, summarized as geometric shapes of different sizes. He seems to have arranged the image according to the principle of “a circle in the square and a square in the circle.” On a square piece of paper, he painted a large round table covered by a square tablecloth, upon which a rectangular vase, a rounded jug, pears, and semi-circular watermelon slices would rest. In the positions of these objects, he created a large, stable triangle. The addition of squared shapes – i.e., the chair, window, and windowsill – breaks the realistic spatial order and as they are placed around the composition, the effect is almost a filmic montage, creating a perfect artistic tension that leads the viewer through time and space.

Colour is also essential to Lin Fengmian’s creation of dimensional space. The highly-saturated red watermelon and a bright white dish, window, and wall against the murky tones of the painting strengthen the sense of depth. The contrast draws in the viewer to imagine the space. This effect resembles the stage lighting that recur in his paintings of theatre subjects, thereby adding a narrative dimension that transcends the depiction of a still life. 

With his pioneering aesthetic vision, Lin Fengmian successfully created a fascinating aesthetic realm in Still Life, which embodies a rich space and expands the viewer’s consciousness. Since 2000, this painting has been shown at five major international exhibitions at institutions including the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo, the National Museum of Modern Art Deoksugung in Seoul, the National Gallery in Singapore, and Lin & Lin Gallery in Beijing. Lin’s ideals have fostered later generations of artists, by encouraging them to fight for their aesthetic convictions, and to further the long and difficult historical mission of reforming Chinese art.

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幾何秩序中的蒙太奇鏡像

林風眠於二〇年代留學歐洲時首次接觸西方立體主義，三〇年代回國之後便開始研究畢加索、勃拉克等立體派代表人物，為此還專門發表了《一九三五年的世界藝術》以介紹立體主義在當年藝術界的最新發展。但在研究初期，雖能隱約感受到立體派對於革新中國藝術的重要作用，但始終缺乏實際操作的體驗，直至四〇年代引入西方經典靜物和傳統戲劇主題入畫，才從真正意義上開始藝術實踐。並觀《林風眠全集》中收錄的四〇年代少量靜物和戲劇人物作品，行筆之間雖保留傳統水墨之氣韻，但從勾勒輪廓的粗獷線條中已頗見西方野獸派風格之啟發，色彩構圖上更是已偏離傳統水墨所追求的透視效果，其中靜物畫中尤為明顯，以上海中國畫院藏的《靜物》和《罐》等為例，同一平面開始出現不同色彩與線條的反复交疊，證明此時林風眠對於空間構成的探索已初具雛形。然而在一九五〇年代初，新中國成立後不久的藝術氛圍以社會寫實為主流風向，西方藝術美術書籍和資料等大多仍停滯於古典主義，對於印象派、立體主義等前衛派別之研究幾乎處於空白階段。林風眠雖身處藝術資訊封閉的內陸，卻突破重重困境，通過書信與五〇年代旅法學生們交流藝術世界最前沿之時訊，據其愛徒潘其鎏回憶，此批學生中趙無極便堅持為林風眠訂閱西方雜誌，由此順利打通林氏瞭解西方世界文化及社會發展面貌的自由渠道，成為其深入探究立體主義結構的強有力輔助。至一九五二年《立體靜物》（拍品編號1011）誕生，林風眠在畫中已能充分解構及利用立體主義的獨特空間理論，在物象構成中樹立幾何秩序，以線條切割和色彩塊面之交錯表現幾何造型的平衡之美，從而真正揭開立體派理論在中國畫實踐中的奧妙與多重可能性。由此觀之，靜物畫不但是林氏改革中國美術的實驗最前線，亦是其構建立體派美學的重要起點，而同時期的戲劇題材則是其主題上的縱向延伸和拓展：藉由民間皮影戲切入而引出時間與動作的連續性之探討，其中以《打漁殺家》（拍品編號1012）為經典代表。於此，兩大主題畫作並駕齊驅同場亮相，必將引領藏家立足於時代背景，回溯時空進行重新審視，從而更為透徹地剖析林風眠作為中國立體派研究理論第一人，瞭解藝術家在兩種題材之間反復琢磨的藝術歷程，與其開拓性創作理念的難能可貴。

林風眠認為「立體主義繪畫審美基礎是幾何造型」，《立體靜物》等五〇年代一系列靜物作品便是其實踐此理論之最佳例證。這些靜物畫不是對自然的重現，而是藝術家由工作台上之靜物實景觸發豐富感官和想像力，進而形成的異度空間。其中，對空間之布陣又大致分為兩類，一類是單純的瓶花與果物的二物並置，常以其空間擺放的位置和高低對照來構圖，以二〇一九年春拍中的《清芳》為例，方桌上一隻瓶花、一籃果子，一左一右，一高一低，巧妙平衡空間分佈，色調素清，肌理細膩，形成剔透而穩固的基本幾何構圖。在此基礎上由簡入繁，加入更多物像，將構圖填滿，並融合背景，形成更為變化多端的第二類複雜構圖，以《立體靜物》為代表，區別於第一類單純構圖，本畫強調豐滿的畫面與明顯的平面分割，線條利落地調動幾何塊面的分佈，不浪費分寸之地，形成流暢的線與面之幾何協奏。畫中，藝術家將物象的現實結構拆解並重組，概括成大小不一的方形、圓形及三角形等極簡之幾何形狀，同時遵從「圓中帶方，方中有圓」之佈局章法：一紙方寸隱匿一個大圓桌，桌上放置方形桌布、方形花瓶、圓形水壺、果梨與半圓形西瓜，簡化而成的概念性幾何元素，各佔三方，形成一座穩固的大三角形；同時加入椅子、窗戶和窗台等的方塊構型，打破現實空間之秩序，亂中有序地分佈於背景中，形成一種近似電影剪輯的蒙太奇效應，引領觀眾跳脫時間與空間之箝制，藝術張力登峰造極。

構型之外，色彩亦是林風眠營造空間立體感的必要元素，在整體灰暗的色調中，加入色彩飽和度極高的瓜果，以及明度較高的白色果盤、窗影、壁面等等，藝術家用這些家中的日常寫照增強畫面的穿透性，營造觀者對空間的遐想，同時呼應戲劇人物作品中常見的舞台光影效果，從而渲染出一種超脫於靜物描繪之外的敘事維度。

《立體靜物》以其超前的美學視角成功塑造了一個令人神往的審美境界，是林風眠豐富的空間思維和開拓意識的寫照。千禧年後，本畫五度入選國際性大型展覽，展覽機構包括東京國立近代美術館、首爾德壽宮美術館、新加坡美術館和北京大未來畫廊，滋證藝術家執著的藝術理想滋養了一代又一代的藝術行者，激勵他們為理想的美神不斷奮戰，革新中國美術這一艱辛而漫長的歷史使命亦由此得以傳承至今。