Oil Painting

2011

Length:130 x Width:162 (cm)

Accession Number：20200100065

Hsieh Tung-Shan (b. 1935, Erlin, Changhua) graduated from the Department of Fine Arts at Taiwan Provincial Normal University (now National Taiwan Normal University), later earning a master’s degree in Western Art History from the University of Iowa and a doctorate in Art Criticism from Texas Tech University. Hsieh taught at several institutions, including National Taichung University of Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Tainan National University of the Arts, and National Changhua University of Education. He has served as a juror for numerous major exhibitions, such as the National Art Exhibition, North American Taiwanese Artists Exhibition, Kaohsiung Exhibition, Da Dun Fine Arts Exhibition, One Hundred Oil Paintings Exhibition, the Union New Talent Award, and the Lee Chung-Sheng Modern Painting Award. He has held solo and group exhibitions in Taiwan and abroad.
Forest Lake (The Three Graces) portrays the Three Graces dancing within a forest clearing. In the background lies the sacred Cephissus River, their mythological domain. By chance, the mortal Prince Paris of Troy happens upon the scene, holding the golden apple in hand, and stops to admire the goddesses' dance. Hsieh draws inspiration from Sandro Botticelli’s Primavera, borrowing both the posture of the Graces and the presence of Mercury. Transposing the Renaissance composition into a contemporary setting, Hsieh reimagines the scene at Zhongxing Lake in Xitou, Taiwan, using local models to depict the Graces and outfitting Paris in modern dress. This juxtaposition of East and West, past and present, bridges classical aesthetics with a modern visual sensibility.