Lotus, 1923Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, inscribed by the artist with a poem and dedication, dated guihai and signed Chen Hengke with three artist's seals Chen Heng da li, Shizi duxingand Boxian Guomu. 51 3/4 x 15 3/8in (131.6 x 39.2cm) 陳衡恪 荷花 設色紙本 立軸 一九二三年作Provenance/來源: Christie's Hong Kong, 18 January 1988, lot 75香港佳士得，1988年1月18日，拍品編號75Published/出版: Toda, Teisuke and Hiromitsu Ogawa comp. Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Paintings, Third Series, Volume 1: American and Canadian Collections, University of Tokyo Press, 2013, A50-93, p. 209戶田禎佑、小川裕充，《中國繪畫總合圖錄》三編，第一卷，東京大學出版會，東京，2013年，A50-93，頁209 Andrews, Julia Frances, Michael Knight, and Pauline Yao. Between the Thunder and the Rain: Chinese Paintings from the Opium War Through the Cultural Revolution, 1840-1979, San Francisco: Echo Rock Ventures, in association with the Asian Art Museum--Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, 2000, pp. 124-125Andrews, Julia Frances, Michael Knight, and Pauline Yao,《風雲際會：從鴉片戰爭到「文革」（1840-1979）的中國繪畫》，亞洲藝術博物館，李鐘文亞洲藝術文化中心，舊金山，加州，2000年，頁124-125 Little, Stephen, and J. May Lee Barrett. New Songs on Ancient Tunes: 19th-20th Century Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy from the Richard Fabian Collection, Honolulu: Honolulu Academy of Arts, 2007, pp. 432-433Little, Stephen, J. May Lee Barrett,《古調新歌：費立哲神父珍藏十九及二十世紀中國書畫》，檀香山藝術博物館，夏威夷，2007年，頁432-433 Exhibited/展覽: Between the Thunder and the Rain, Asian Art Museum Chong-Moon Lee Center for Asian Art and Culture, San Francisco, California, October 25, 2000-January 14, 2001 《風雲際會：從鴉片戰爭到「文革」（1840-1979）的中國繪畫》，亞洲藝術博物館，舊金山，加州，2000年10月25日至2001年1月14日 New Songs on Ancient Tunes, Honolulu Art Academy, Honolulu, Hawaii, August 30-October 28, 2007 《古調新歌：費立哲神父珍藏十九及二十世紀中國書畫》，檀香山藝術博物館，夏威夷，2007年8月30日至10月28日Chen Hengke was known for his support of the traditional literati painting. He published A Study of Literati Painting (Wenrenhua zhi jiazhi), which argued the most distinguishing characteristics of literati painting is moral quality. He studied painting with Wu Changshuo. In his flower and bird work, such as the lotus presented in current lot, they often exhibit a freehand style that is similar to Xu Wei (1521-1593). Unlike most of the lotus paintings, the artist did not feature flowers in bloom here, rather, he chose to present a strong contrast between the single small bud in brilliant red and the large leaves in pastel blue, which also carry a hint of ochre suggesting withering. The visual effect therefore is natural yet decorative.陳衡恪對傳統文人畫的推崇世人皆知。他撰寫的《文人畫之價值》一文更認為"人品"為文人畫之第一要素。陳氏畫學吳昌碩，花鳥作品如本幅紅荷亦有徐渭（1521-1593）之寫意趣味。與多數以荷為題的作品不同，本幅中並無表現盛開的荷花。相反，畫家以鮮紅突出畫面上唯一的花蕾，與大片靛青荷葉形成強烈對比。又以絲許赭褐帶出荷葉老邁凋零之感，更顯花莖之挺拔生機，令畫面呈現既自然又充滿裝飾意味的視覺效果.