Ding Yanyong

1902-1978

Artist: Ding Yanyong
Title: Mynahs on Pine Tree (Sold)
Medium: Watercolor
Ground: Paper
Size: 137.5 x 69 cm
Signature: High left
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Artist Biography:

Hailed as the “Matisse of the East,” Ding Yanyong (Chinese, 1902–1978) was a pioneer in introducing Western Modern Art into China, and a leading figure in the revival of ancient China traditions for modern expression. His artworks in oil and ink mix Chinese and Western aesthetics to achieve a synthesis of the two artistic traditions.

Born in the Guangdong Province, Ding was among the first Chinese artists who went to Japan to study Western painting in the early decades of the 20th century. He attended Japan’s most prestigious art school, the Tokyo School of Fine Arts, between 1919 and 1925, and developed into an accomplished painter of the Fauvist and Expressionist styles.