‘PEONIES’ BY LI KUCHAN (1899-1983)

‘PEONIES’ BY LI KUCHAN (1899-1983) China. Ink on paper. Depicting a blossoming branch of peonies, superbly painted in the artist’s characteristic bold and spontaneous style. Inscriptions: Upper left, signed ‘Li Gong’. One seal of the artist, ‘Kuchan’. Provenance: British trade. The reverse labeled ‘2/2/15-6’. Condition: Good condition with minor old wear, rubbing, foxing, few minuscule tears to the edges. Dimensions: Size 63.6 x 44.8 cm Li Kuchan (1899-1983) was a renowned Chinese painter, calligrapher, and art educator who specialized in free-stroke brush paintings. Li was born in Gaotang, Shandong, into a poor family and had to take up hard labor in order to pay for art school in Beijing. In 1923, he began to study under Qi Baishi (1864-1957) and was considered his best student. Later, Li began to work as an art teacher, and taught at the Central Academy of Fine Arts from 1950 until his death in 1983. He specialized in bird-and-flower paintings using the free and spontaneous ‘xieyi’ style (freehand brushwork used in traditional Chinese painting). Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s London, 13 November 2015, lot 1198 Price: GBP 8,125 or approx. EUR 14,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: Li Kuchan, Lotus Expert remark: Compare the related floral subject and characteristic manner of painting. Note the size (49 x 41.5 cm).