Zhang Xiaogang: Early works

The most recognizable and best-selling of Zhang Xiaogang's portraits are his Bloodline and Big Family series--where he draws inspiration for his smooth, unemotive characters from old photographs.

Bloodline Series: Boy

2002
Oil on Canvas

In 1993, Zhang Xiaogang painted seven portraits of his relatives and close friends. Way more fresher?

Portrait in Yellow
1993
Oil in Canvas

This is a portrait of Zhang Xiaogang's friend and fellow artist, Ye Yongqing. By this point, Zhang Xiaogang had already developed characteristics that are integral in his later works. The sunlight hitting Ye Yongqing's face creates a section of pale yellow surface that anticipates the patches of pastel colored flesh on the faces in the later series. In Portrait in Yellow, Zhang Xiaogang's fascination with bloodlines is already apparent and perhaps even more pronounced. A streak of red stretches from Ye Yonqing's ear to his heart, which remains in bed. In his later series, Zhang Xiaogang paints only the bloodlines, ignoring thier source. The works seem more sterile and controlled because of the absence of a warm, pulsating heart.

Bloodline Series: Boy sold for $445,000 at Sotheby's New York on September 20, 2007
Portrait in Yellow will auction at Christie's Hong Kong on November 25, 2007