Analysis of Xiong Ming's Portraits of Women (Part 3)

Original author: Gao Liuxing, Gao Di Culture, Posted on June 23

Xiong Ming's four additional oil portraits of women adopt a different style. Instead of using the impasto technique, he focuses on the permeation and fusion of colors, reminiscent of traditional Chinese female portrait painting.

To achieve this effect, Xiong utilizes the wet-on-wet technique in oil painting, requiring him to complete the artwork in one sitting. This technique involves heavy usage of paint to maintain its natural flow. It demands great deliberation on each brush stroke, urging the artist to be bold and plan ahead.

One of the four paintings, "Southward Flying Wild Geese", is analyzed here, though I invite interested readers to study "Reading", "Unparalleled in Yao Garden", and "Mountain Ghost" using the same approach.

On observing "Southward Flying Wild Geese", our eyes are drawn to the waist of the figure where the sleeves and robes intersect, further highlighted by vibrant white, green, and red colors. The red, especially, draws our gaze to a similar colored hairpin on the woman's head and then to her beautiful face, subtly painted.

The woman's upward gaze directs our attention off the canvas, suggesting she's watching the southward flying geese. Re-examining the painting reveals a full moon behind the woman, indicating she's at a high vantage point, possibly during the Mid-Autumn festival. The woman's loneliness is palpable as she gazes at the moon. Her eyes brim with sadness and thoughts of love, regret, worry, and resentment. This painting, combining the rich implications of traditional Chinese female portrait painting and the harmony and color beauty of oil painting, offers a unique aesthetic pleasure.

Xiong Ming's technical proficiency in oil painting ensures vivid, layered colors that avoid muddiness despite the wet-on-wet method. The painting utilizes cool shades of green, blue, and purple, conveying a sense of chilly loneliness. Meanwhile, the rhythmic, dynamic composition complements this static, melancholic ambiance.

熊明油画仕女图《读书》