|
Bergen, Germany
|
|
1957 Oil on board 24 x 33 cm Signed on the reverse, titled BerGEN and dated Sep. 20 |
|
Estimate
800,000 - 1,400,000 186,000 - 326,000 23,900 - 41,800
|
|
Sold Price
767,000 181,754 23,456
|
|
|
Bergen, the title of this picture, is not the famous second largest city in Norway, but a small town near Celle in northern Germany. In 1957, Guan Liang and Li Keran went to East Germany as part of a cultural exchange under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture. Two months after their arrival, Akademie der Künste held separate solo exhibitions for each of them.
During their four-month trip to Germany, they enjoyed a friendly reception and were invited to visit many places. As Guan described in his memoirs, "In order to let us know more about Germany, they provided cars, drivers and translators. There were four people in our party, driving along by the winding Elbe River. There were flourishing green-and-yellow fields. They were pastures for storing hay and grazing cattle, and nearby were clusters of green and exuberant woods. Further away on the steep slopes and foothills were farmers' houses always with red, brown and orange roofs, adding to the vitality and beauty of the green-and-yellow fields. " "Gazing at these fields of gold and jade, I couldn't help but ring out Beethoven's Pastorale Symphonie from my heart. There was a peaceful, idyllic atmosphere, bewitchingly fresh air and German rural fields with a unique charm. The simple and stately buildings such as the Museum Schwerin and Straslund left us with a deep impression. These evoked our admiration and inspired our passion for creation." (Please see Guan Liang Memoirs edited by Lu Guanfa, Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Publishing House, 1984, pp.106-107)
Guan's oil paintings are a rarity these days. "Bergen, Germany" is one of the artworks he painted during his trip to Germany. Small in scale, this painting primarily focuses on a small-sized landscape in an austere style, a typical Guan feature.
PRINT