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Actions Displays	Details Remove from selection Add to selection CollectionSouth & Southeast Asian Collection Object numberS1980-0842-001-0 TitleCathedral CreatorLiu Kang DescriptionThis is an early Liu Kang when he was still grounded in an Academic-Impressionist style. It is a rare occasion when he shifted his attention away from his usual compositions, landscapes, still lifes and portraits to focus on an architectural motif. St.Andrew's Cathedral is a Protestant Church and was built almost entirely by Indian convict labour. It was consecrated as a cathedral in 1870. It was named St.Andrew's because the majority of subscribers to the building fund was Scots. It is an early Singapore landmark and has remained so to this day.“In ‘Cathedral’, 1950, Liu Kang develops his composition as an easel picture. The easel picture cuts an illusion of a box-like cavity into the wall behind it; within this, three-dimensional semblances are organized as a unity. It is a fictive world and the devices of representation employed to design it persuade us that this world is a source of enduring aesthetic and intellectual engagement. Liu Kang sites as a representation of St Andrews Cathedral firmly on the ground and secures for it dominance. The image of the building virtually covers the entire picture surface. Pigment is applied thickly, robustly in order to assert a clear physical existence. In contrast, the surface depicting the sky is translucent. Towards the top left corner appears foliage of a tree which is outside the picture; the branches and leaves are brushed loosely in order to register movement and vitality.” (Past, Present , Beyond: Re-nascence of an Art Collection, Page 63) Production placeSingapore Production date 1950 Object categoryPainting MaterialOil on Canvas, Oil Paint, Paint, Canvas Dimensions H: 100 cm L: 141 cm

CollectionSouth & Southeast Asian Collection

Object numberS1980-0842-001-0

TitleCathedral

DescriptionThis is an early Liu Kang when he was still grounded in an Academic-Impressionist style. It is a rare occasion when he shifted his attention away from his usual compositions, landscapes, still lifes and portraits to focus on an architectural motif. St.Andrew's Cathedral is a Protestant Church and was built almost entirely by Indian convict labour. It was consecrated as a cathedral in 1870. It was named St.Andrew's because the majority of subscribers to the building fund was Scots. It is an early Singapore landmark and has remained so to this day.“In ‘Cathedral’, 1950, Liu Kang develops his composition as an easel picture. The easel picture cuts an illusion of a box-like cavity into the wall behind it; within this, three-dimensional semblances are organized as a unity. It is a fictive world and the devices of representation employed to design it persuade us that this world is a source of enduring aesthetic and intellectual engagement. Liu Kang sites as a representation of St Andrews Cathedral firmly on the ground and secures for it dominance. The image of the building virtually covers the entire picture surface. Pigment is applied thickly, robustly in order to assert a clear physical existence. In contrast, the surface depicting the sky is translucent. Towards the top left corner appears foliage of a tree which is outside the picture; the branches and leaves are brushed loosely in order to register movement and vitality.” (Past, Present , Beyond: Re-nascence of an Art Collection, Page 63)

Production placeSingapore

Production date 1950

Object categoryPainting

MaterialOil on Canvas, Oil Paint, Paint, Canvas

Dimensions

H: 100 cm
L: 141 cm

Details