Oil painting, 162 x 130 cm, 1950

Balcony” is painted by Li Mei-shu (1902-1983), a renowned Taiwanese artist. It is Li’s turning point toward local aesthetics, portraying two women as they relax on an open-air balcony. The location in the painting is the balcony on the second floor of a clinic belonging to Dr. Lin Jin-hsien, Li’s family doctor and close friend, who Li frequently visits to have tea. Outside the building, which still exists today, the elegant beauty of Yingge (located in today’s New Taipei City) can be seen in the distance. Interestingly enough, the two women in the painting were modeled after the same person. Li constructed a sketch using Dr. Lin’s wife first and then used the daughter of another friend, Sanhsia Police Chief Chou Yung-fu, as the model for both girls in the painting.


To learn more about Li Mei-shu, please go to Li Mei-shu, the “Great Wall” of Taiwanese Art Movement

Text and image are provided by The Li Mei-shu Memorial Gallery
http://www.limeishu.org.tw
http://limeishu.org