A wonderful serendipity between a Belgian banker and a pioneering Chinese artist in old Shanghai

Artist-Patron relationship forged in old Shanghai

During the 1940s and 1950s, Shanghai was a city pulsating with change. As the financial hub of Modern China and Asia's largest international trading port, it attracted a wealth of foreign investment and a diverse expatriate community. These expatriates not only introduced Western technology and management practices but also cultivated an appreciation for Eastern art. They fostered and witnessed the city’s development into an epitome of the fusion between Eastern and Western art through their collections of Eastern art masterpieces, showcasing a distinctive characteristic of the era.

One significant figure among them was Belgian banker Frank Van Roosbroeck (1919-2008). Frank Van Roosbroeck moved to Shanghai from Belgium in 1948 to take up the position as the head of the Shanghai branch of the Banque Belge pour l’Etranger (Belgian Bank for Lands Abroad). In Shanghai, he met his Korean wife, Linda. The couple had four children and settled in an apartment in Grosvenor House on Rue Cardinal Mercier in the French Concession in the 1950s.

Mrs. Linda Van Roosbroeck was an artist and art lover who took painting classes whilst in Shanghai. Through this artistic connection, the Van Roosbroecks met the artist Lin Fengmian and acquired a group of Lin’s works in Shanghai. In addition to his own collection, Van Roosbroeck often recommended other expats to buy paintings from Lin, as evidenced by Lin Fengmian's autobiography, penned in 1971 while he was under detention.

Opera Figures that fused Eastern and Western aesthetics

Having showed prodigious talent for drawing as a child, Lin Fengmian won a government-sponsored scholarship to study in France in 1919. He initially attended the École Nationale Supérieure d'Art de Dijon before continuing his studies at the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. He later travelled to Berlin. This period of study had a profound impact on his artistic style, inspiring his exploration of the fusion between Eastern and Western aesthetics.

Lin Fengmian brought together Eastern themes with Western techniques, creating conversations between Chinese painting and modern Western art that appealed to expats living in Shanghai.

The Lin Fengmian paintings from the Van Roosbroeck family collection are masterpieces that beautifully fuse East and West, and they will be presented for the first time at Christie’s upcoming auctions. The portrayal of opera figures is one of Lin’s main themes in his oeuvre. On the advice of his close friend Guan Liang, Lin watched many operas during the late 1950s and early 1960s and he was inspired to create a series of paintings based on famous titles.

At the opera, Lin’s sketchbook was always in-hand, collecting details for his compositions. He drew inspiration from the gestures, movements, and performance styles on the opera stage, incorporating these elements into his paintings. Simultaneously, he applied Western compositional and color techniques, focusing on overlapping geometric shapes to convey a sense of continuity in time and space, influenced by Cubism. Lin Fengmian interpreted Cubism through the concept of time and space featured in Chinese opera while simultaneously employing Cubist techniques to depict Chinese opera themes. This creative approach imbued his works with a multi-layered sense of cross-cultural interpretation.

At the same time, Lin Fengmian abstracted details, simplifying the features of his characters into lines and basic shapes to capture and emphasize their expression. By eliminating unnecessary details, he highlighted the simplicity and depth of his compositions. This technique not only lends modernity to his works but also revitalizes traditional elements, giving them new life in a contemporary context.

In the history of Chinese modern art, Lin Fengmian is an unparalleled pioneer whose remarkable achievements in the synthesis of the traits in Chinese and Western arts opened up new horizons for traditional Chinese painting. Lin has nurtured a generation of renowned artists, including Zao Wou-Ki, Chu Teh-Chun and Wu Guanzhong, underscoring his profound influence on Chinese art education.

Paintings as embodiment of historical memory

The Korean War, which began in 1950, led to a dispute between the bank and Chinese authorities that lasted over 20 years. During this time, the bank’s branches in Tianjin and Shanghai were suspended, and their management staff was not allowed to leave the country. Mrs Van Roosbroeck was allowed to leave Shanghai in 1961 with three of her children and brought some of their belongings to Belgium, including the Lin Fengmian paintings. In 1966, she accompanied her youngest child to Belgium to attend school. After spending 24 years in Shanghai, Frank Van Roosbroeck was released in April 1972 and returned to Belgium to reunite with his family via Hong Kong. The couple traveled thousands of miles to bring Lin Fengmian’s paintings back home, treasuring them ever since, which reflects their profound affection for Lin Fengmian’s works.


Frank Van Roosbroeck lived through a significant period in Chinese modern history. His 24 years in Shanghai coincided with Lin Fengmian’s crucial creative period in the city, allowing him to witness Lin’s major transformations in themes and styles, as well as important artistic explorations. As a result, the Lin Fengmian paintings from the Van Roosbroeck family collection hold exceptional significance, serving as a valuable record of Lin's works and artistic achievements and historical testament to art’s role as a catalyst for cross-cultural exchanges.