Help with identifying a painting within a painting.

simonsoon · October 14th, 2011, 08:55 PM

Hello all, I thought I'd give this forum a go and try my luck here. I'm trying to identify a painting within a painting. From the image you can probably see a painted book that is open. That is the painting I'm trying to identify. Based on some of the other clues, we can see immediately behind the painting, a book on Courbet and another one on Corot. I'm guessing the painting would be 19th century French then. However there's a text in Russian in the furthest end of the still life. As I can't read Russian, I would also like to ask if anyone can help me decipher the title of the book.

The painting was painted in the mid fifties in Singapore by a social realist painter involved with leftist uprising against the British.

Thanks for your help!

John · October 15th, 2011, 01:45 AM

Hi, the image did not come through. Try clicking "Post Reply" below left and using the paperclip icon for attachments (while signed in).

simonsoon · October 15th, 2011, 05:59 PM

Dear all, sorry that the file did not go through in the first round. I've attached the file here now. thanks for your help!

saintmarc · 01:15 AM

The first word is probably "художесвенная" that has the meaning of artistic and that we find in "художесвенная выставка ссср" meaning : exhibition of the artists of USSR.
Then we have Ruskoï Jivopicci that means "russian paintings". I have not enough letters for the last world

The illustration is the study for the nude of a youg woman by Watteau.
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/Wave/imag...0743-000_p.jpg
The cover of the book is surely this one (collection des maitres, editions BRAUN)
http://cgi.ebay.fr/Watteau-Bouchot-S...item4158511791
http://cgi.ebay.fr/Leger-COURBET-Bra...item35b5e167d9

We are very interested by the name of the author of the still-life.

October 29th, 2011, 11:25 PM

Dear Saintmarc,

Thank you so much for your kind assistance. This has certainly opened up new interpretative avenue for my research. The artist is Lai Kui Fang. Unfortunately he grew out of his social realist phase, or more likely it was stamped out by the Singapore government in the following decades. Today he is recognised as an academic painter in Singapore and France. http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~drlai_kf/drlai.htm

Thanks again for your help and generosity.

John · October 30th, 2011, 01:42 AM

Very interesting. Most of the images of his paintings on the website are too small to really enjoy, but look at this remarkable portrait for an example:

October 14th, 2011, 08:55 PM	#1
simonsoon Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 2	Help with identifying a painting within a painting. Hello all, I thought I'd give this forum a go and try my luck here. I'm trying to identify a painting within a painting. From the image you can probably see a painted book that is open. That is the painting I'm trying to identify. Based on some of the other clues, we can see immediately behind the painting, a book on Courbet and another one on Corot. I'm guessing the painting would be 19th century French then. However there's a text in Russian in the furthest end of the still life. As I can't read Russian, I would also like to ask if anyone can help me decipher the title of the book. The painting was painted in the mid fifties in Singapore by a social realist painter involved with leftist uprising against the British. Thanks for your help!

October 17th, 2011, 12:34 AM	#4
saintmarc Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 345	The first word is probably "художесвенная" that has the meaning of artistic and that we find in "художесвенная выставка ссср" meaning : exhibition of the artists of USSR. Then we have Ruskoï Jivopicci that means "russian paintings". I have not enough letters for the last world The illustration is the study for the nude of a youg woman by Watteau. http://www.culture.gouv.fr/Wave/imag...0743-000_p.jpg The cover of the book is surely this one (collection des maitres, editions BRAUN) http://cgi.ebay.fr/Watteau-Bouchot-S...item4158511791 http://cgi.ebay.fr/Leger-COURBET-Bra...item35b5e167d9 We are very interested by the name of the author of the still-life. Last edited by saintmarc : October 17th, 2011 at 01:15 AM.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

October 15th, 2011, 01:45 AM	#2
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,400	Hi, the image did not come through. Try clicking "Post Reply" below left and using the paperclip icon for attachments (while signed in).

October 29th, 2011, 11:25 PM	#5
Unregistered Posts: n/a	Dear Saintmarc, Thank you so much for your kind assistance. This has certainly opened up new interpretative avenue for my research. The artist is Lai Kui Fang. Unfortunately he grew out of his social realist phase, or more likely it was stamped out by the Singapore government in the following decades. Today he is recognised as an academic painter in Singapore and France. http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~drlai_kf/drlai.htm Thanks again for your help and generosity.

October 30th, 2011, 01:42 AM	#6
John John Malyon, host Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 2,400	Very interesting. Most of the images of his paintings on the website are too small to really enjoy, but look at this remarkable portrait for an example: