LEE Man Fong - RIDING A WATER BUFFALO

Decorated in slightly abstract in quality and skillfully painted with rendering technique through brushstroke, Lee is highly respect depicting this subject with Chinese traditional painting techniques through well-executed brushstrokes in the xieyi (寫意) or freehand style in trailing the traditional Chinese painting art. The freehand style, like on this painting, is also called Southern or Literary style that means “wrote ideas”, and the brushstrokes are closer to the strokes in calligraphy. From early twentieth century, especially with establishment of the Republic of China and lustrous painting art development in Indonesia, the technique was developed and widely influenced by Europe techniques. Like on this artwork, Lee executed and integrated the technique and ideas of Western painting into Chinese painting tradition. Hence, this artwork entitled to "Riding a water buffalo" tends to be simple, bold, and flowing: somewhat impressionistic, paying little attention to detail.