LOT 13
YONG MUN SEN
B. Sarawak, 1896 – 1962
Pagoda in A Park, 1947 (Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang)
Watercolour on paper
54 x 48 cm
Private Collection, Kuala Lumpur
Signed and dated lower left. Extension Exhibitions Department Cleveland Museum of Art. Note Design for a poster ‘Malayan Rubber-Second to None’
RM 18,000 – 35,000
Widely revered as the Father of Malaysian Watercolour Painting, Sarawak born artist Yong Mun Sen pioneered a distinct visual language that brilliantly merged traditional Chinese ink aesthetics with Western watercolour techniques. His masterful command of the medium shines in hisexquisite 1947 work, Pagoda in A Park, painted during a critical post war period of cultural reflection and artistic rebuilding in Malaya. In this piece, Mun Sen employs his signature fluid, minimalist brushstrokes and a delicate, atmospheric wash to capture the elegant structure of the pagoda nestled within a serene landscape. By leaving strategic areas of the paper untouched, a direct nod to the Chinese concept of liubai, he allows the composition to breathe, beautifully capturing the soft, tropical light and a profound sense of spiritual stillness that elevates a local landmark into a timeless masterpiece of early Malaysian modernism.