Xu Beihong painted a celestial nymph scattering flowers.
It sold for $440,000 (3.2M yuan).

But some online comments are brutal:
“Vacant stare. Looks totally done with life.”
“Cover half her face — the other half is beautiful.”

Painted in 1916, it blended Western watercolor shading with Chinese brush lines. Maybe the sadness was intentional?

#XuBeihong #ChineseArt #CelestialNymph #ArtCriticism #Painting #EarlyModernArt #OrientalMeetsWestern