Yudai Bridge in the Summer Palace, by Li Keran   Provided to China Daily

Yudai Bridge in the Summer Palace by modern master of Chinese painting Li Keran (1907-89) fetched 4.4 million yuan ($711,000) after a dozen bids at auction on March 20 in Beijing.

The work topped the Beijing Council International’s first sales of the year, which grossed 72.5 million yuan from more than 1,500 Chinese paintings and calligraphic works from ancient and modern times.

Li ranks among the masters who were painting mountains and water in the 20th century, and his brushwork exploration helped modernize the traditions of Chinese painting. He employed the treatment of colors and lights of Impressionism when creating Yudai Bridge in the Summer Palace in 1959. The work is a testimony to a key moment of transformation in his art career.

Artworks by other modern masters also registered stable performances, including Pu Ru, Lu Yanshao and Wu Changshuo.

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