The Shanghai Period marked Lin Fengmian's artistic zenith. In 1951, Lin bid farewell to Hangzhou and embraced Shanghai as his creative haven. Influenced by Professor Guan Liang from the National Art College, who also lived in Shanghai at that t.mes , Lin immersed himself in the nationwide craze for Peking Opera. This multifaceted art form, blending words, melodies, drama, and dance, became his muse, driving his artistic exploration to new depths. The Legend of the White Snake is not only one of the most widely circulated folktales in China but also a renowned piece in Peking Opera, serving as the classic source material for this work.
The Legend of the White Snake, alongside The Tale of Meng Jiangnu, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and The Butterfly Lovers, are revered as the four folktales of China. This artwork is inspired by a pivotal moment in "The Flooding of Jinshan Temple" from The Legend of the White Snake: White Snake (Bai Suzhen) (on the right) wears a sword, while her loyal maid, Green Snake (Xiao Qing) (on the left) holds a paddle, ready to duel with the monk Fahai in water. This scene captures the essence of one of the most gripping moments in The Legend of the White Snake, symbolizing a love that endures against all odds.
In 1951, Lin Fengmian shared insights on creating theatrical characters in a letter to his students. He didn't just draw from traditional operas for inspiration but also fused Western Cubist painting theories and techniques. Like Picasso merging diverse spatial and temporal elements, Lin Fengmian flattened and folded space to capture the vivid moment of drama performances. This piece portrays the characters White Snake (Bai Suzhen) (on the right) and Green Snake (Xiaoqing) (on the left), overlapping each other, with one positioned in front of the other. It's clear that the artist doesn't just aim for the brief spotlight moments of theatrical figures, but rather captures the essence of continuous action, surpassing the typical stage presence and spatial dynamics found in traditional theatrical artworks.
Lin Fengmian ingeniously melds the essence of traditional Eastern shadow puppetry aesthetics with Western Cubism to forge a revolutionary visual lexicon, amplifying the geometric allure of the imagery. The figures in this piece are like finely crafted shadow puppetry dolls, with their warm white backdrop erasing any nods to t.mes and place, presenting the artist's deep thoughts and hands-on approach to bringing three-dimensional objects to life on a flat canvas.
In Lin Fengmian's 1960s works depicting theatrical characters, there are fewer sharp geometric lines and flat color blocks. Instead, there's a softer approach with more elaborate decorations and color schemes, echoing the style of ancient noble lady paintings from "Chongqing Period" in the 1930s and 1940s. From this piece, the actors' cost.mes s still carry a simplified geometric style, yet the details lean towards realism, with flowing lines. Lin Fengmian also introduced watercolor into his palette, infusing a sense of transparency into the strong colors. This, coupled with spatial arrangement, gave birth to distinctive works featuring iconic theatrical characters.
Chinese Opera Series: Legend of White Snake uses an elegant warm white as the background color, while the cost.mes s of the characters are mainly in shades of blue: The sleeves of White Snake (on the right) are colored in a light aqua, contrasting vividly with the warm yellow collar. The styling of Green Snake (on the left) predominantly features sapphire blue, powder blue, and pine green, complementing the goose-yellow and pale yellow of the paddle she holds and the sword hilt on her back. The overall contrast of warm and cool colors in the picture is sharp, coupled with geoMetricas lly simplified forms, creating a clean and graceful visual effect, enhancing the dramatic nature of the scene.
Chinese Opera Series: Legend of the White Snake was acquired directly from the artist's studio in Shanghai and had since been dearly treasured by a European private collects or since 1963. The work is remarkably making its debut at auction after over sixty years in private collects ion.
上海時期是林風眠藝術創作最旺盛的時期：1951年林氏離開杭州，定居上海並專注創作，其時受同樣居滬的國立藝術教授關良的感染，林氏開始醉心當時風靡全國的京劇藝術，其集合文字、音樂、戲劇、舞蹈的多元特質，成為藝術家深入鑽研的藝術媒介。《白蛇傳》既為中國最廣為流傳的民間傳說之一，亦是京劇名曲，正是本作取材之經典劇目。
《白蛇傳》與《孟姜女》、《牛郎織女》和《梁山伯與祝英台》並稱為「中國四大民間傳說」，本作的創作背景則設於「水漫金山」一幕：白蛇（白素貞）（右）與侍女青蛇（小青）（左）分別佩劍持槳，準備與法海和尚水鬥之情境，乃《白蛇傳》中最為精彩的劇情之一，象徵至死不渝的愛情。
1951年，林風眠曾在寫給學生的信上，分析對創作戲曲人物的感受，當中提及其不僅從舊戲取得作畫的題材，更融合西方立體主義的繪畫理論及表現技法，如畢加索將不同空間、時間的物像結合之畫風，將戲劇表演的動象，以壓平及折疊空間的方法呈現。 從本作可見，白蛇（白素貞）（右）青蛇（小青）（左）兩個角色一前一後，彼此重疊，可見藝術家所追求表現的，並非戲劇人物亮相的剎那，而是演員連續動作中的片刻，已然超越典型劇場人物作品所追求表達的舞台量感及空間感。
為加強畫面的幾何化效果，林風眠將東方傳統皮影戲的美學精髓，結合西方立體主義，確立具突破性的視覺語言。本作呈現的戲劇人物有如刀雕彩繪的皮影戲偶，暖白底色更去除一切對於時空背景的指涉，體現藝術家對於在平面展現立體物象的深刻的思考和實踐。
林風眠六〇年代的戲劇人物作品，較少出現銳利的幾何分割線條，及純色塊的平面構成；反而可見更多軟性的裝飾與色彩配搭，猶有其三〇至四〇年代，「重慶時期」所繪的古裝仕女之風格。從本作可見，演員的服飾依然呈現幾何風格的簡化處理，同時細節上的描繪傾向寫實，線條風格渾然流轉；林風眠此時亦加入水粉作為媒材，為重彩注入透明感，配合空間構圖，創出具標誌性的戲劇人物作品。
《中國戲曲系列：白蛇傳》以素雅的暖白作底色，人物服裝則以青色調為主：白蛇（右）的手袖以淺湖水綠上色，與領口的暖黃色成鮮明對比；青蛇（左）的造型則以寶石藍、粉藍及松綠色為主，與其手中所持的木槳，及背劍劍柄的鵝黃及淺黃，相映成趣，畫面整體的冷暖色彩對比鮮明，與幾何簡化的造型並置，視覺效果俐落大方，強化畫面的戲劇性。
《中國戲曲系列：白蛇傳》之現歐洲私人藏家於1963年，直接購藏自藝術家位於上海的工作室，珍藏至今逾六十載，現首登拍場，實屬難能可貴。