Image size: 78.4 x 59.9
The pre-eminent Chinese artist Xu Beihong made a total of eight visits to Singapore between 1919 and 1941, with his longest and most significant stay occurring between 1939 and 1941. During his time in Southeast Asia, Xu produced a large body of work, including commissioned portraits, and a wide range of ink paintings of horses, flora, and fauna. He also engaged in calligraphy, producing signboards for schools and art societies. His works were often sold or gifted to friends and patrons, helping to sustain both his practice and reputation in the region. Xu's presence in Singapore coincided with growing anti-Japanese sentiment among the Chinese diaspora. The sitter of this portrait is Ng Kee Neo 黄柿娘 (b. China, 1852; d. Singapore, 1945) at the age of 89 years old. The portrait was commissioned and painted in 1941 while Xu was in Singapore. Born in China, Ng first came to Penang with her family from Xiamen in the early 1920s. The family established Kim Bian Seng & Co. Ng in Penang, Singapore, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, making their fortune in gold bullion trading. The portrait is a unique example of Xu’s treatment of background. The interior of the home is rendered in flat blocks of colour, with relatively little suggestion of depth or detail, despite Xu’s inclusion of a slanting shadow on the back wall. This suggests an integration of post-impressionist brushwork and atmosphere in the background alongside Xu's realistic rendering of the subject.