Paeonia Lactiflora
Li Ruinian
1982
- YEAR:1982
- MEDIUM:Oil on canvas
- DIMENSIONS:85 × 69 cm
Introduction
Li Ruinian was a pioneer of Chinese oil painting and an outstanding art educator. He was praised by Xu Beihong as “the foremost figure in Chinese oil landscape painting” and his works combine the realistic spirit of naturalism with a lyrical and poetic style. In his early years, Li Ruinian studied in Belgium and France. After returning to China, he, along with Lv Sibai, Huang Xianzhi, and others, became core members of the art education team at the Central University led by Xu Beihong, nurturing a large number of oil painting talent. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he continued to explore the practice of “nationalization of oil painting” in both teaching and creation. Paeonia Lactiflora is a representative work from the last years of his life, during which he traveled across the country for sketching, merging his artistic vision with accumulated thoughts. In the painting, the flowers and green leaves are rendered with delicate brushwork and precise light-and-shadow structure. The red vase harmonizes with the tablecloth adorned with auspicious patterns, showcasing the maturity of his later years, when he integrated Chinese aesthetic spirit into the expression of oil painting.
