01 work, PORTRAIT OF A LADY, Chen Yifei's Banquet, with Footnotes #203

Chen Yifei, 1946 - 2005

Banquet, c. 1991

Oil on canvas

137 by 208 cm; 53 ⅞ by 81 ⅞ in. 

Private collection

Sold for 54,520,000 HKD in April 2022

Banquet is a masterwork from Chen Yifei’s creative peak. It represents Chinese art’s rebirth. This image of musical accompaniment to a banquet embodies the essence of late 20th-century nostalgia and is enveloped in a traditional, elegant Eastern air. 

Chen Yifei (April 12, 1946 – April 10, 2005) was a renowned Chinese classic-style painter, art director and film director.

Chen Yifei is a central figure in the development of Chinese oil painting. He is also considered one of China's most renowned contemporary artists. 

Chen soon became one of the leading painters of the Cultural Revolution. He was famous for his big Mao Zedong portraits and depiction of grand heroic events of the modern Chinese nation. After the Cultural Revolution, Chen became the forerunner of a new age in Chinese aesthetics, promoting a new sense of modernity and lifestyle in his paintings as well as in fashion, cinema and design. In his oil paintings Chen abandoned his uncritical glorification of the party to blend realistic technique and romanticism with Chinese subject matter, especially melancholic and lonely women in traditional dresses. 

In 1980 he became one of the first artists from the People's Republic of China permitted to study art in the United States. Chen Yifei enrolled at Hunter College and later found work as an art restorer. In 1983, before he attained his master's degree at Hunter, his solo exhibition at the Hammer Galleries was a great success. 

Chen returned to China and settled in Shanghai in 1990. He painted Impressionist landscapes of Tibet and his native Zhejiang Province. At the same time, he had also transformed himself into a style entrepreneur, creating fashion brands, decorating hotels and selling high-end clothing and chic home furnishings. He also supervised one of the country's biggest modeling agencies. Some critics said he turned increasingly commercial. In 2005, while working on a feature film, "Barber," Chen fell ill and died. More on Chen Yifei

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints, 365 Days, and Biblical Icons, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.