In the 1990s, Wu Guanzhong had extended his footprints in the art scene to a global level. He became the first living artist in history to hold a solo exhibition at the British Museum. Executed in 1996, A Season of Peach Blossoms (Lot 1015) depicts the scene of peach blossoms in front of the gate of a corner in an ancient village. It can be seen as a portrayal of the artist's life at this t.mes . Peach blossoms have always been a symbol of joy and auspiciousness in traditional Chinese culture. As early as the Zhou Dynasty, the Classic of Poetry (Shijing) used the peach blossoms in full bloom as a metaphor for the joy of a bride-to-be, expressing people's yearning for a better life; which echoes the artist's self-expression in painting.A Seasons of Peach Blossoms demonstrates Wu Guanzhong’s artistic inspiration from across t.mes s. More apparent abstract elements can be seen in Wu Guanzhong's oeuvre in the1990s. The geometric color blocks in the background show the artist's exploration of abstract art: the structural form of the peach tree in this work resembles that of the plum trees and bamboo painted by Shi Tao, one of the "Four Monks" in the early Qing Dynasty.The rich and successive layers of paint also bear resemblance to Cézanne’s working method with palette knives. Such a combination of Oriental aesthetics and Western painting techniques endows Wu Guanzhong’s oil paintings with a strong oriental heritage. In his prose collects ion Brush and Ink amounts to nothing, Wu Guanzhong shared his view on depicting the abstract beauty of the scenery: "The small mountain village is full of color patches, the lines are lively and beating, giving people a sense of vitality. If you fail to capture the texture of the black and white blocks and the beauty of the gathering yet dispersing colors, and focus only on the details of the house, the dilapidated parts will mask over and replace the beauty in overall." In A Seasons of Peach Blossoms, the peach branches together with the presentation of the house and distant mountains on the background portrayed through stacking of color blocks, are a perfect manifestation of Wu Guanzhong’s integration of the aesthetic essence from the East and the West.

Wu Guanzhong once stated in his book The Painter’s Eye (Huayan) that the location of the peach blossoms in the painting was an ancient village in the suburbs of Beijing. The inscriptions on the reverse of the painting reads “May 1996, Cuan Di Xia Cun (village) in the suburbs of Beijing", from which can be deduced that the artist took the scene from the ancient village of Cuan Di Xia Cun.

Cuan Di Xia Cun was listed as one of the key historical and cultural sites under state protection in 2006. In 2008, award-winning movie The Warlords was filmed in the ancient village complex. A Season of Peach Blossoms is therefore a precious historical witness of the scenery in the village. One of our Modern Art specialists at Replica Shoes ’s had paid a visit to the ancient village in March 2023. Photos taken had shown the peach trees in the village right now share structural similarity to that of which was seen and captured by the artist over two decades ago. Cuandixia Village, located in the western suburbs of Beijing, is not as warm as the city center of Beijing. Snow has not yet.mes lted in some areas of the village, therefore peach blossoms in the village are not as blooming as those in the city center. Wu Guanzhong created this painting in May 1996, which was supposed to be the t.mes when Spring is coming to an end in warmer areas of the city, and just starting to bloom in the areas which are cooler. This phenomenon shares the picturesque scenery described in Tang Dynasty poet Bai Juyi's Peach Blossoms in Dalin Temple: "When the flowers in majority of the areas start to wither, the peach blossoms in the mountain temple begin to bloom.”

Wu Guanzhong rarely uses festive and auspicious flowers as subject matter, among which peach blossoms are even rarer. Similar works such as Plum Blossoms, created in the 1970s, was sold for HK$103,927,000 at Replica Shoes 's Hong Kong Modern Art Evening Auction in 2022 Spring. Sharing similar size and the same subject matter, Peach Blossoms (61.1 x 46.3 cm) was sold for HK$44,440,000 in the Replica Shoes 's Hong Kong Modern and Contemporary Art Evening Auction in 2015 Fall. Executed in 1990s, just as the current work, A Village of Xishuangbanna was sold for HK$13,685,000 at Replica Shoes 's Hong Kong Modern Art Evening Auction in 2022 Spring.

A Season of Peach Blossoms was exhibited in the Arts of Wu Guanzhong held in the National Museum of History in 1997. In addition to the exhibition catalog, this work was also included in The Complete Works of Wu Guanzhong Vol. 4 published by Hunan Replica Handbags s Publishing House in 2007, World Famous Artist: Wu Guanzhong published by Hebei Education Publishing House in 2010 and The Painter’s Eye (Huayan), published by Shanghai Wenhui Publishing House in 2010. The academic and collects ion value of this work is fully testified. A Season of Peach Blossoms has never appeared on the market, presenting a rare opportunity for collects ors.

九〇年代，吳冠中從中國走向全球，更成為大英博物館史上第一位舉行個展的在世藝術家。《桃花季節》誕生於1996年，描繪古村一隅的門前桃花盛開之景，一片欣欣向榮，正是藝術家此時的人生寫照。桃花在中國文化之中，一直象徵著喜慶與吉祥。早至周朝的《詩經》，已經以盛放的桃花比喻待嫁新娘之喜悅，寄託著人們對美好生活的嚮往，呼應藝術家以畫自況之意。

《桃花季節》展現吳冠中廣涉古今的藝術造詣，以及在其九〇年代作品中，明顯增強抽象性元素：畫面背景所採用的幾何處理正好展現藝術家對抽象藝術的探索。盛放的桃花可見來自明清古畫的靈感，猶有清初畫壇「四僧」之一，石濤筆下的墨梅竹石之神韻；宅院外牆的處理，更展現西方印象大師塞尚常用於風景油畫的刀劈斧鑿、厚重用色及豐富層次。如此揉合東方美學與西畫技法的處理，賦予其油畫作品濃厚的東方韻味。吳冠中在其所著的散文集《筆墨等於零》中，亦曾對表現實景的抽象之有以下見解論述：「小小山村色塊斑斑，線條活躍跳動，予人生氣勃勃的美感，如果捕捉不住其間大小黑白塊面的組織沒及色彩的聚散美，而拘謹於房屋細部的寫真，許多破爛的局部便替代了整體的美感。」，《桃花季節》所呈現桃枝形態，以至通過色塊堆疊背景宅院及遠山的呈現方式，皆為藝術家將東西兩源美學精粹融會貫通的完美體現。

吳冠中曾於《畫眼》交代畫中桃花所在地為北京市郊一山中村落，與畫背款識一併參考 :「1996，5月 京郊川底下 爨（川）」，則可知藝術家取景地為爨底下村。爨底下村於2006年被列為全國重點文物保護單位；2008年成為榮獲第27屆香港電影金像獎最佳電影《投名狀》的拍攝場景。本畫為古村一隅的風景之珍貴歷史見證。蘇富比現代藝術部門專家於2023年3月份親訪爨底下村，所攝照片顯示村中桃樹之形態與藝術家寫生之景類同；位於北京市西郊的爨底下村比市內氣溫清涼，村中某些角落尚未融雪，因此村內桃花並未盛開如市內的風景。吳冠中創作本畫之時，乃1996年5月份，其時該為大地春歸，而村中春景適才陸續展現，正好遙遙呼應唐代詩人白居易於《大林寺桃花》中所寫：「人間四月芳菲盡，山寺桃花始盛開。」之詩情畫意。

吳冠中罕以富喜慶吉祥之意的花卉作主題，其中桃花更屬稀有，足見本作之珍罕。相似作品中，創作於七〇年代的《紅梅》於2022年香港蘇富比春季現代藝術晚拍以103,927,000 港幣成交；尺寸相近，同樣以桃花為題的《小桃紅》（61.1 x 46.3 cm）則於2015年香港蘇富比秋季現當代藝術晚拍以44,440,000港幣。與《桃花季節》同誕生於九〇年代的《西雙版納村寨》，則於2022年香港蘇富比春季現代藝術晚拍以13,685,000 港幣成交。

《桃花季節》曾出展於1997年台北歷史博物館舉行的〈吳冠中畫展〉, 除展覽畫冊外，本作亦收錄於2007年湖南美術出版社出版之《吳冠中全集IV》、2010年河北教育出版社出版之《世界名畫家：吳冠中》以及2010年上海文匯出版社出版之《畫眼》，展歷文獻齊全，兼具學術及收藏價值。本作如今首登拍場，誠為購藏良機。