現代　徐悲鴻　柳鵲圖　軸|Flying Magpie

Xu Beihong

dated 1942 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

This painting captures a magpie in midflight; its spreading wings and half-extended feet suggest that it has just taken off or is about to land. The delicate whips of a willow form a minimal backdrop. Their arcing lines imply a breeze behind the bird's forward motion. Although the austere simplicity of this composition is characteristic of the literati tradition of Chinese painting, the rendering of the magpie's plumage is free of the calligraphic brush idioms of traditional scholar-painters. Rather, the bird's naturalism betrays Xu's mastery of Western representational skills.

Artist

Xu Beihong

Date

dated 1942

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Lin Yutang Family Collection, Gift of Richard M. Lai, Jill Lai Miller, and Larry C. Lai, in memory of Taiyi Lin Lai, 2005