Willem Gerard Hofker 威廉·傑拉德·賀夫卡 | Ni Rindit met Singha (Ni Rindit with Singha) 妮・林蒂特與獅

Christie's, Hong Kong, 30 May 2010, Lot 1189

Acquired directly from the above sale by the present important private Asian collector

----------------------------------------------

香港, 佳士得, 2010年5月30日, 拍品編號1189

現亞洲重要私人藏家直接購自上述拍賣

Seline Hofker and Gianni Orsini, Willem Gerard Hofker [1902-1981], Uitgeverij de Kunst, 2013, colour plate, p. 192 

----------------------------------------------

〈威廉·傑拉德·賀夫卡（1902-1981年）〉; 瑟琳·賀夫卡及簡尼·奧斯尼 （阿姆斯特丹，藝術出版社，二〇一三年）圖版，237頁

Statuesque Beauty: A rare rendering of Ni Rindit

The Dutch artist Willem Gerard Hofker was deeply captivated by the island of Bali and all its creative promise, from its tropical verdure, ancient monuments, rich culture to the elegant deportment of its inhabitants. The present lot is an iconic and rare rendering of Ni Nyoman Rindit, who was the Hofkers’ neighbor in Champuan, Bali. The artist noticed her beauty when he saw her during her daily walk on the footpath to the fields, and from then onwards, Ni Rindit would become a dear member of the Hofker home once the couple relocated Ubud in 1940. Ni Rindit was known for her tall figure, fairer skin and pretty features. She moved to the village Panestanan with her family after World War II, and continued her role as a model, but now to another visionary - Spanish artist Antonio Blanco - who would marry Ni Rindit’s aunt Ni Ketut Ronij.

This impressive work hails from the most coveted and acclaimed period of the artist’s life. Here, Ni Rindit leans weightlessly towards the left side, resting her palm gently on a surface and caressing a sculpture of a lion with her other hand. With her nimble torso, chiseled facial features, dazzling headgear and an orange sarong draped effortlessly on her arm, Ni Rindit appears numinous and otherworldly. Compositionally, she is framed by an architectural temple structure that borders the right side of the work. Unlike the more stylized works of his contemporaries Walter Spies and Rudolf Bonnet, Willem Hofker’s oeuvre loyally observed a sincere and academic Western verisimilitude. Though Hofker painted for commission during his time in Europe, he sketched with unadulterated artistic liberty in Bali. In this convivial island, he meticulously chose charming models that moved him in a certain, intangible manner, and successfully exposed the deeper essence behind their physicality through their portraits. Permeating through this work is the tangible spirit of a youthful Ni Rindit, whose contemplative mind remains mysterious to the viewer.

----------------------------------------------

佳人麗影：妮・林蒂特的珍貴肖像

荷蘭藝術家威廉・傑拉德・賀夫卡對峇里島的旖旎風光心馳神往，島上繁茂的綠植、歷史悠遠的古蹟、絢爛的民俗文化與島民的優雅風姿，為賀夫卡帶來無窮的創意啟發。本作是賀夫卡為他在峇里坎普安的鄰居妮・紐曼・林蒂特（Ni Nyoman Rindit）繪製的經典肖像畫，實屬珍貴難得。每天，林蒂特都會沿著小徑步向田野，賀夫卡對她那婀娜多姿的倩影一見鍾情，從此成就了二人的美好姻緣。兩人在1940年遷往烏布，此後，林蒂特便正式成為賀夫卡的家庭一份子。妮・林蒂特以她的高挑身材、晶瑩肌膚及精美五官為人所知，二戰完結之後，她隨家人定居烏布藝術村（Panestanan），並為另一位藝術先驅——西班牙藝術家安東尼奧・布蘭柯擔任模特兒。後來，布蘭柯更與林蒂特的姨母妮・凱圖・羅尼（Ni Ketut Ronij）共諧連理。

這幅傑作出自藝術家最備受關注的創作時期。畫中的妮・林蒂特上身微微左傾，一手支撐著身體，另一隻手輕撫一隻獅形雕塑，體態靈巧輕盈。她的五官輪廓分明，戴著華麗璀璨的頭飾，身上的鮮橙色紗籠布料自手臂緩緩垂下，氣質脫俗出塵。畫面右方可見一間寺廟的部份建築結構，畫中人則被此包圍。相較兩位同輩藝術家沃爾特・史畢斯和魯道夫・邦尼較為非寫實的作品，賀夫卡的畫作則緊循西方學院派的嚴謹寫實畫風。在歐洲居住期間，賀夫卡需按照委託要求創作；但在峇里島，他享有完完全全的創作自由，可以隨心而行，繪其所愛。賀夫卡在這座歡樂島上仔細觀察，將這些為他帶來難以言喻、深切觸動的佳人麗影一一繪入畫中。憑藉這些肖像畫，他將峇里女郎曼妙姿態背後的底蘊呈現觀者眼前。畫中的妮・林蒂特散發活潑可人的青春魅力，而她的所思所想，對觀眾而言卻仍是一個謎。