Artworks tour major cities before going to auction

When thinking of an artist who took the depiction of fruit to impressive heights, Paul Cezanne (1839-1906) is a name that often comes to mind. Unconventionally, the French artist deviated from painting an accurate representation loyal to the real objects. He focused more on the relationship between colors and forms, reshaping people's fixed perceptions of objects and their surroundings.

L'Assiette bleu (The Blue Plate), created between 1879 and 1880, is one such example that exhibits how Cezanne transformed the realm of still life into an experimental testing ground for modernism. The work was displayed in Beijing, along with other modern and contemporary artworks in a preview exhibition on Aug 25 and 26 in Christie's art space in Beijing.

The show is a dialogue between 20th-century Eastern and Western art, where visitors will also view the bold experiments of Chinese artists such as Wu Guanzhong, Zao Wou-ki and Wu Dayu.

The exhibition will tour to Shanghai on Aug 29 and 30. Following the tour, several works will go under the auction gavel at Christie's in late September.