Oil Painting

1991

Length:60.5 x Width:50 (cm)

Wang Er-Chang (1919-2005), born in Paoti County, Hebei Province (now part of Tianjin), developed an early interest in painting through family influence. In 1936, he began studying under the noted artist Li Ku-Ch’an (1899-1983), and in 1940 was admitted to the Department of Fine and Applied Arts at Peiping Normal University, where he studied under prominent teachers including Kuo Po-Chuan (1901-1974), Liu Feng-Hu (dates unknown), Hu P’ei-Heng (1892-1962), and Wang Jung (dates unknown). After graduating in 1944, Wang taught at Chang-Le Middle School in Shandong and later at Shang-Yü Middle School in Peiping. He moved to Taiwan in 1948, teaching first at the elementary school affiliated with the Taiwan Provincial Pingtung Normal School, then at Taichung First Senior High School, and from 1971, at Pingtung Teachers College (now National Pingtung University), retiring in 1984 as an associate professor. A lifelong educator and artist, he also founded the Pingtung Paper-Cutting Art Association to promote traditional crafts and fine arts.
With a strong background in art education, Wang was adept in both Chinese and Western techniques. His oil painting shows the influence of Kuo Po-Chuan: bright palettes and complementary colors in shadow, echoing Post-Impressionism and Fauvism. This still life centers on a white porcelain dish holding Sterculia nobilis, commonly known in Taiwan as feng-yan-guo or “phoenix eye fruit,” a tropical fruit that ripens around July and August. By incorporating this distinctly local fruit, Wang imbues the work with a sense of Taiwanese identity. The dish sits on a white tablecloth beside a white porcelain jar, letting the fruit, painted in vivid reds and blacks, stand out. The use of complementary colors brings brightness and intensity to the scene, subtly evoking a sense of tropical warmth and vitality.

Accession number:20180100030