Chu Teh-Chun

Chinese and French painter Chu Teh-Chun (朱德群, Zhu Dequn, 1920–2014) trained in Hangzhou under Lin Fengmian at the school of fine arts, which he entered in 1935. During his studies, he produced more than five hundred watercolours of the landscapes of West Lake in a traditional Chinese style. His teaching career began in China: appointed assistant professor in 1941, then full professor at Nanjing University in 1942, he moved to Taipei in 1949, became a teacher at the industrial school in 1950, and taught Western painting at the National Taiwan Normal University from 1951.

On 29 March 1955, he left Taiwan for Europe; after arriving in Marseille on 5 May, he settled in Paris. The following year, the Nicolas de Staël retrospective introduced him to abstract art. He describes his painting as a search in which colour and line work together to bring forth light and evoke imagery and poetry. From 1976, he took up calligraphy again, which he had practised in his youth.

His work also extends to commissions and other media: in 2002, he created La Symphonie festive for the Shanghai Opera, where the work was inaugurated in the foyer in 2003. Between 2006 and 2008, he worked at the national Sèvres manufactory and created a series of 56 vases entitled De neige, d’or et d’azur. Presented at the Guimet Museum in Paris in 2009, this series testifies to the presence of his work in exhibition venues devoted to Asian arts.

From 1964, his work was exhibited abroad, notably at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, in Jerusalem and in Athens; he took part in the São Paulo Biennial in 1969. In 2010, a retrospective of his work was held at the National Museum of China in Beijing. Works created as part of the Les yeux fertiles project entered the Museum of Contemporary Art of Val-de-Marne. In 1997, he was elected to the painting section of the Académie des beaux-arts. Pierre Cabanne devoted a monograph to him, published by Cercle d’art in 1993 and reissued in a bilingual edition by Flammarion in 2000.

Works recorded at auction

Lempertz · Lot 193

Untitled

Ink on paper

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Tusche auf Papier

Auction date : 2020-12-08

Published result : 32500 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 25000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 105

Composition n° 280, 1966

Gouache on paper

Original catalogue wording

Composition n° 280, 1966
Gouache auf Papier

Catalogue period : 2020-09-23

Published result : 43754 CHF

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : CHF 20000–30000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 468

Untitled

Black ink pen on paper

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel
Schwarze Feder auf Papier

Catalogue period : 2019-06-19

Published result : 8401 CHF

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : CHF 5000–7000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 232

Ohne Titel (No 270), 1968

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel (No 270), 1968
huile sur toile

Catalogue period : 2018-06-20

Published result : 279542 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 110000–130000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 233

Ohne Titel (No. 250), 1967

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Ohne Titel (No. 250), 1967
huile sur toile

Catalogue period : 2018-06-20

Published result : 340312 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 140000–180000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 239

Composition N° 195, 1964

Watercolour on paper

Original catalogue wording

Composition N° 195, 1964
aquarelle sur papier

Catalogue period : 2015-06-20

Published result : 48640 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 40000–60000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 241

Composition N° 276, 1965–66

Gouache on paper

Original catalogue wording

Composition N° 276, 1965–66
Gouache auf Papier

Catalogue period : 2015-06-20

Published result : 38912 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 30000–40000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 243

Composition N° 208, 1964

Watercolour and gouache on paper

Original catalogue wording

Composition N° 208, 1964
Aquarell und Gouache auf Papier

Catalogue period : 2015-06-20

Published result : 72960 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 60000–80000

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Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Lot 376

Composition, 1978

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Composition, 1978
huile sur toile

Catalogue period : 2012-06-23

Published result : 285120 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 120000–150000

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Piguet

Composition, hiver

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Composition, hiver
huile sur toile

Catalogue period : 2016-12-14

Published result : 200000 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 200000–300000

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Piguet

Une obscure clarté III"

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Une obscure clarté III"
huile sur toile

Catalogue period : 2016-06-15

Published result : 650000 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 100000–150000

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Germann

Composition No. 206, 1964

Gouache.

Date to be documented

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

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