PROVENANCE:

Collection of Sanhuai House, Hong Kong

ILLUSTRATED:

Zhu Pu Ed., Modern Artists Theory, Work, Biography: Lin Fengmian, Xue Lin Publishing, Shanghai, 1988, black-and-white illustrated, no. 120 (with a title of Fish, mirror image upside down, incorrect size)
Zhou Weiming Ed., Collection of Art Garden Studio No. 72: Sanhuai House's Modern Chinese Paintings, People Fine Arts Publishing House, Shanghai, 2004, color illustrated, no. 28, p. 18

Lin Fengmian's still lifes contain the most self-expressed themes. Lin combined his still life paintings with Western Cubism perception. He used traditional Chinese encaustic paint, and featured geometric elements such as squares, triangles, and arcs, which flatten the drawing plane. Portraying objects such as pots of flowers, fish on a plate, or fruit, all of which are reduced to simple shapes, his paintings feature space segmented with colorful objects in a seemingly misaligned layout, which invigorates and enriches each painting. His still lifes express modern structure and aesthetic feelings.

"Still Life with Fishes and Flowers" is recognized as the most important of Lin's Still Lifes. He created it around 1977 when he left Shanghai for Hong Kong. It features a candid, freehand style and is full of unsophisticated interests. Whether the desk, the fish on a plate or the small pot of flowers, the outline of each object is captivating with its misaligned layout, which is harmonious yet not abrupt, forming delightful contrasts. The window lattice is tinged with ideas from Matisse's abstract windows. The elegance and modern feeling of the painting has been ingeniously accomplished through Lin's immersion in modern art.