Xu Beihong

We authenticate, certify, issue certificates of authenticity (COA), appraise the value and broker the sale of paintings and drawings by XU Beihong.

Chinese

Born in 1895, Yixing, China.

Died in 1953, Beijing, China, aged 58.

He spent all his life in China. He briefly lived in Shanghai in 1912 and in Tokyo as a student in 1917, as well as in Paris from 1919 to 1927.

Typical subject matter:

He is especially renowned for his works depicting horses – often treated as isolated figures and sometimes underneath trees. In most of his works, the horses are in dynamic poses—jumping, neighing, or seen from dramatic angles, including from the back. He also extensively featured other animals found in China, including ducks, birds, pigs, rabbits, roosters, hens, and cats. He painted trees and plants as well—both as standalone motifs and in contextualized settings.

For his oil on canvas works, he frequently painted portraits, often of seated figures, rendered in a Western compositional style.

Typical style:

Although he combines traditional Chinese brush and ink techniques with Western styles, this fusion is most evident in his oil paintings. He is best known for his traditional-looking ink paintings on paper, in which he carefully delineates form and fills it partially with wash strokes. His brushwork is especially expressive in the tails and manes of horses, where ink-loaded brushstrokes fade into dry strokes, showing a mastery of control and fluidity.

Typical material and media:

He mostly worked in Indian and colored ink on paper and also created works in oil on canvas.

If you own a painting or a drawing by or attributed to Xu Beihong, we would like to learn about it. Please send us photos or contact us at [email protected]. You will generally receive a response within 24 hours.