Beschreibung:

CHEN YIFEI (1946-2005)The young cellist, circa 1986
Oil on canvas, framed. 153cm (60 1/4in) x 154cm (60 5/8in).FootnotesThis work is registered in the Hammer Gallery archives under no. C25282-1.
本拍品在the Hammer Gallery的檔案編號為no. C25282-1
陳逸飛 (1946-2005) 年輕的大提琴手 布面油畫 有框 約作於1986年
Provenance: Dr. Maury P. Leibovitz Collection, Connecticut, commissioned from the artist and acquired through Hammer Gallery in 1986, and thence by descent.
來源：Maury P. Leibovitz 博士委託藝術家繪製並在1986年購於Hammer Gallery，美國康涅狄格州，並由後人保存迄今
Chen Yifei was born in 1946 in Ningbo of the coastal Zhejiang Province. When he was a child, he moved with his family to Shanghai where he studied Russian art and Socialist Realism. He graduated from the Shanghai College of Art in 1965. During the Cultural Revolution, he was initially denounced for 'capitalist behaviour', but later gained recognition from the authorities for his mastery of oil painting. He was famous for portraying grand images of Chairman Mao and the People Liberation Army. After the Cultural Revolution, he fused realistic techniques with romanticism to depict Chinese subject matters. He later became one of the first artists from the PRC permitted to study in the United States and gained his master's degree at Hunter in 1983. After achieving great success for his solo exhibition, Chen became a contract artist for the Hammer Galleries. In 1990, Chen returned to China and settled in Shanghai. Chen Yifei's artistic creation successfully pushed Chinese realist oil painting in the West, bridging East and West with its powerful emotional content and refined technique.
The present lot portrays a young cellist whose face is highlighted by a shaft of light from the upper right candles. The elegant facial expression and the graceful body lines grant the painting the solemnity and mystique of religious portraits. It is a classic example of his characteristic 'Romantic Realism' using dense and dark colours to create a sense of richness, refinement, and romantic atmosphere.
Compare with a related painting of The Cellist, signed by Chen Yifei and dated 1983.6, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 20 September 2007, lot 13.