Oil Painting

1950

Length:65 x Width:53 (cm)

Yeh Huo-Cheng (1908-1993, Fengyuan, Taichung) graduated from Taipei Second Normal School (now National Taipei University of Education), where he studied under Ishikawa Kinichiro (1871-1945). He later served as an elementary school teacher and principal, and was director of the Department of Industrial Design at Ming Chi Institute of Technology. Yeh’s works were frequently selected for the Taiwan Fine Arts Exhibition during the Japanese colonial period, and he also received awards from the Taiwan Provincial Art Exhibition. A lifelong advocate for art education, he was a member of the Tai-Yang Art Society and the Chinese Artists Association, served as chair of the Republic of China Oil Painting Association, and founded both the Huludun Art Research Society and the Niumatou Painting Society. He played a major role in promoting the art movement in central Taiwan.
Yeh specialized in oil painting, exploring subjects such as portraits, landscapes, and still lifes. His still-life works are notable for their bold brushwork and distinctive color palette, blending elements of Expressionism and Cubism. This rare piece features fossil specimens—a theme seldom seen in his body of work. On a platform rendered in gradated shades of blue and green, the artist arranges a cattle skull and two seashells of differing sizes and forms. The objects decrease in size from right to left, while the angled background at the upper left introduces spatial tension. These elements together form a stable triangular composition, creating a strong sense of depth. The painting's color scheme is rich and layered. The stark white of the skull and the yellow tones of the shells contrast powerfully with the dark hues of the background. With thick, textured brushstrokes, Yeh conveys the rough, solid quality of the fossil surfaces, capturing their tactile presence with striking realism and expressive force.

Accession number:20170300130