Female Nude

Inscription: In spring of the Xinyou year (1921), I took an exam at the art academy in the French capital. My group’s studio course didn’t finish until noon, and we immediately had to start the exam. We weren’t allowed to eat.
For two weeks in February, I consumed nothing but bread and water. On 26 April 1921, the French National Art Association, previously the French Artists’ Society, opened a five-day exhibition. When I went to the exhibition, it was already the end of spring. I ignored the snow and had no coat. It was so cold that I had to go home. I wanted a bath to ward off the cold, so I hurried to bathe. Before I was done, my abdomen hurt. This became an untreatable stomach illness.
Alas, I have been short of funds, so I don’t have a coat. It has been four years, but I am still in pain. When people see my paintings, they wonder how it can be like this. While I still have breath in my body, I must try. Recorded by Beihong in the first month of the Yichou year (1925).
Seal: “Beihong” (Round seal with relief characters) and “Continuous improvement” (Square seal with relief characters)

This drawing was made in 1925, recording Xu Beihong’s difficult experiences studying in painting in Paris in 1921 (as the inscription says, in Yichou year, when Xu Beihong was 27).