HONG KONG - Christie’s Hong Kong auctions of Chinese Contemporary Ink, Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy and Fine Chinese Modern Paintings held on 28 and 29 November realised a combined total of *HK$513,088,750 / US$66,454,971 .

The Chinese Contemporary Ink sale which took place on 28 November 2016 and totalled HK$19,495,000 / US$2,524,459. The top lot for the sale was Scholar’s Rock by Liu Dan, which realised HK$ 3,660,000 / US$ 473,943.

Lot 830. Liu Dan (B. 1953), Scholar’s Rock - Grotto Heaven. Scroll, mounted and framed. Ink on paper, 53 x 136 cm. (20 7/8 x 53 ½ in.). Executed in 2016. Estimate HKD 2,400,000 - HKD 3,600,000 (USD 310,782 - USD 466,174). Price Realised HKD 3,660,000 (USD 474,142). © Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

Scholar’s rocks for Liu Dan are objects of mystery and uncertainty. Although it appears that Liu portrays a faithful representation of his subject matter, the scrupulous details he depicts are deceiving to the observer. The organic and strange features of a small piece of rock provide sources of imagination for the artist to journey through the world from a microscopic viewpoint, enabling him to create magnified and intricate compositions that echo grand landscape paintings where one can wander from within. 

Through Liu Dan's meticulous, precise painting one can observe a great paradox in the liberating power of self-discipline. Liu uses his mastery of traditional method and technique to free his paintings from the aesthetic constraints normally associated with Chinese ink paintings. He does this while remaining true to the tradition, with results that are spectacularly novel and contemporary. Liu Dan is keen to emphasise that his attainment of masterly skill through self-discipline is what provides him with the freedom to paint according to his heart and mind. In Grotto Heaven, his freedom is used to scrupulously render minute and almost photographic details of a scholar’s rock. 

With an ultimate fascination in the structural properties of things around him, Liu Dan actively removes his subjects from their original context. By decontextualising his subject matter, he abandons the narrative and distils his paintings to become a pure visual experience. Liu’s firm belief to not “tell a story” allows viewers to pay attention only to what appears in front of their eyes, that is, the aesthetic harmony born out of Liu Dan’s mind, body, and paint brush.

Fine Chinese Classical Paintings and Calligraphy sale which was held on 28 November 2016 and totalled HK$203,266,250 / US$26,321,486. The top lot for the sale was Landscapes and Flowers by Bada Shanren, which realised HK$39,740,000 / US$ 5,146,040. 

Lot 916. Bada Shanren  (1626-1705), Landscapes and Flowers lbum of six leaves, ink on paper ach leaf measures 32 x 50.5 cm. (12 5/8 x 19 7/8 in.). One leaf inscribed and four leaves inscribed and signed, with a total of eight seals of the artist. Three collectors’ seals: two of Zhou Xiangyun (1878-1943) and one of Luo Jialun (1897-1969). Titleslips by Zhang Zuyi (1849-1917) and Zhao Shigang (1874-1945), with a total of three seals. Estimate HKD 2,000,000 - HKD 3,000,000 (USD 258,985 - USD 388,478). Price Realised HKD 39,740,000 (USD 5,148,202). © Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

Provenance: From the collection of Luo Jialun

Luo Jialun (1897-1969) wielded significant influence in politics and education in 20th-century China, as well as being an accomplished poet, author, and collector. He became active in politics during his studies at Fudan School in Shanghai. In 1917, while studying foreign literature at Beijing University, Luo Jialun advocated literary reforms as an editor of the student periodical The Renaissance. These efforts culminated in his role as a student leader in the May 4th Movement. He spent several years abroad and studied in the United States, London, Berlin, and Paris. After Luo returned to China he joined the Nationalist government and was appointed deputy head of instruction at the Central Party Institute in Nanjing in 1927. He served as president of the Tsinghua University between 1928 and 1930. In 1932, he was appointed president of National Central University in Nanjing, serving until 1941. During this time he led the University to safety in Chongqing in the midst of the Sino-Japanese war. Luo Jialun served as the Republic of China’s ambassador to India from 1947-1949, before he returned to Taiwan and assumed additional education-related official duties. Luo’s collection of Chinese paintings has sold remarkably well in recent auctions. These twenty lots of classical paintings and calligraphy by Ming and Qing artists, dating from the 15th to the 19th century, are not to be missed by collectors. 

Fine Chinese Modern Paintings held on 29 November 2016 which totalled HK$ 252,477,500 / US$32,707,729. The top lot was Landscapes & Vegetables by Qi Baishi, which realised HK$ 17,460,000/ US$ 2,261,892. 

Lot 1250. Qi Baishi (1863-1957), Landscape & Vegetables. Album of eight leaves, ink and colour on paper. Estimate HKD 15,000,000 - HKD 20,000,000 (USD 1,943,206 - USD 2,590,942). Price Realised HKD 17,460,000 (USD 2,261,892). © Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

Seven leaves measure 33.6 x 33.6 cm. (13 ¼ x 13 ¼ in.). One leaf measures 29 x 38.2 cm. (11 3/8 x 15 in.). Each leaf inscribed and signed, with a total of eight seals of the artist. Dedicated to Chengzhong, Yufen and Madame Jingyi. One leaf dated winter, twenty fifth day, eleventh month, guihai year (1923). Colophon inscribed and signed by Qi Baishi, with two seals. Dated winter, renshen year (1932). Signed, with one seal of the artist. Colophon by Chen Zihe, with a total of three seals of the artist. Dated winter, renzi year (1972). Titleslip inscribed and signed by Sheng Cheng. Dated New Year’s Day, guimao year (1963). With a total of ten collectors’ seal of Yu Fengsheng.

Provenance: Lot 2739, 30 November 2010, Fine Chinese Modern Paintings, Christie’s Hong Kong.
Consigned directly by Sheng Cheng’s daughter in 2010.

Proviously in the collection of Sheng Cheng

Qi Baishi dedicated this painting to Cheng Zhong, the nickname of Sheng Cheng (1899-1996), a well-respected, international literary scholar, poet and linguist. The painting is also dedicated to Yufen, the father-in-law of Sheng Cheng. 

Sheng Cheng’s family and the relatives of his first wife were close friends with Qi Baishi. A good companion of the bride’s father, Qi Baishi was asked to be the witness at Sheng’s wedding. Although Qi did not fulfill this request, he composed and inscribed poems in honour of the couple. According to records, the first four paintings were painted in celebration of Sheng Cheng’s first wedding in 1923. Sheng Cheng and Qi remained close friends for the rest of their lives, occasionally visiting each other even in their old age. In 1946, Sheng Cheng’s second wife Li Jingyi invited Qi to paint an additional four paintings that would be framed in an album together with the previous four paintings, culminating in an album that represents a friendship spanning decades and a glance into the intertwining of their lives.

Sheng was born into a scholarly family in Yizheng. He was a diligent student and won fame young in life as one of Sun Yatsen’s “Three Boys of the 1911 Revolution.” Sheng Cheng travelled to France to study, focusing on sericulture at Montpellier, and later focused his studies on politics. Sheng returned to China in the early 1930s and taught languages and linguistics at several universities.
In 1948 Sheng accepted a teaching post at Taiwan University and remained there until emigrating to the West. Beginning in 1965, he travelled to the United States and Europe, finally settling in southern France. Feeling homesick, he returned to China in 1978 and was appointed to teach at the Institute for Foreign Languages in Beijing, where he focused on studying the linguistic roots of the Malay, Chinese and Tibetan languages. He also continued to write poetry, for which he is well known and highly respected in China. In 1985, President François Mitterand presented Sheng Cheng with France’s highest award, the Légion d’honneur.

This present album of Qi Baishi works holds great significance historically and artistically – the wide subject matters ranging from still life to landscapes display the unique perspective Qi possessed that made him a great master. Qi refused to rigidly follow ancient guidelines on landscape paintings, creating unique works that different from the accepted norms of painting landscapes at the time. Peaches, dedicated to Madame Jingyi, is an emblem of marriage and a symbol of immortality and springtime.

The Pioneers Sale held on 26 November 2016, which the Chinese paintings pieces contributed HK$37,850,000/ US$4,902,461. The top lot from the category was Splendour of the Peak by Zhang Daqian, which realised HK$ 34,140,000/ US$ 4,420,881.

Lot 2505. Zhang Daqian (China, 1899-1983), Splendour of the Peak. Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on silk, 173 x 89 cm. (68 1/8 x 35 in.). Inscribed and signed, with one seal and one dated seal of the artist. Dated autumn, yisi year (1965). Estimate HKD 30,000,000 - HKD 40,000,000 (USD 3,884,781 - USD 5,179,708). Price Realised HKD 34,140,000 (USD 4,420,881). © Christie's Images Ltd 2016.

Provenance: Lot 210, 7 October 1990, Fine 19th and 20th Century Chinese Paintings (Part II), Christie's Swire Hong Kong.

Literature: Han Mo Volume 39, Zhang Daqian's Landscape Paintings, Han Mo Xuan Publishing Co., Ltd., Hong Kong, 1 April 1993, p.42.

A Thousand Peaks lift from earth in ranks of green and azure, Ancient pine trees sigh and moan across their layered slopes.
These winding, convoluted ridges seem wondrous and fantastic, Cascades spurt a thousand meters dangling from the Milky Way.
-Zhang Daqian 

SELF-EXILE TO GLOBAL NOMAD

By 1965, Zhang Daqian had travelled much of the world covering South America, Europe and Asia before he chose to make Carmel, California his home for several years to follow. His paintings completed in this year portray a multitude of subjects, from the snowstorms of the Swiss Alps to the remote settlements of Brazil, but it is likely this work was inspired by nostalgia and sentiment. Perhaps yearning to recall memories of life in Asia, the artist sought comfort in painting a vivid depiction of towering mountains with a cluster of Chinese homes nestled amongst its high precipices accessible only by a winding road precariously hugging the mountain edge.

EARLY DISCIPLINE IN CHINESE CLASSICAL ART TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF SPLASHED-INK PAINTINGS

Zhang Daqian's early training provided him with a strong grounding in Chinese Classical art - having spent his 20's perfecting the style of old masters, he took great delight in challenging his peers to differentiate between the original and his copy. During this time, Zhang engaged himself in the study and understanding of classical traditions, submerging himself in the works of Bada Shanren and Shitao, and creating works filled with elegance and a balanced restraint. He built a strong foundation in his control of the brush and use of colours, culminating to a two and a half year study of the caves at Dunhuang from 1940-1942.

From this experience, he was able to extract, digest, and personalize the essence of the scholar tradition, and move in a new direction, inspired by the extremely colourful and meticulously painted cave drawings from the Sui (581-618) and Tang (618-907) dynasties which he religiously copied. Here, Zhang cemented his craft in meticulous drawing and developed a sensitivity to the use of colours in his work.

Zhang's second period of artistic development happened post-1957, as he started experimenting in the splashed-ink style. His use of colours became more fabulous and diverse, exuding an air of magnificence and monumentality in his landscape creations. This technique of “accumulating ink and colour” were in part derived from the Tang dynasty model of splashing ink on silk and spreading them into shapes.

Particularly, Zhang focused on the ancient method of splashed-ink, boneless (mogu) works.

The years from 1965 to 1969 marked the apex of Zhang's artistic career. Undoubtedly, his exposure to different cultures and artistic styles over the course of his travels greatly inspired and influenced him in his own pursuit in paintings - it was around this time his splashed-ink paintings developed into the technique that is highly revered today. Zhang's meeting with Picasso in late July 1956 was influential in his pioneering a new path towards his approach to art creation – this period also marked Zhang's meeting with Chinese artists practicing within the abstract realm, such as Zao Wou-ki and San Yu, which very likely expanded his exposure and understanding towards Abstract Expressionism.

Many have noted that Zhang's splashed-ink paintings were representations of a synergy of both Western and Chinese painting practices - nevertheless, Zhang stressed his splashed-ink works were a continuation of Chinese paintings rather than a departure from it, reflections of Tang dynasty methods whereby artists randomly splashed and saturated their paintings with ink. Blue and green landscape were believed to have been invented by Li Sizun and his son Li Zhao-dao in the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907), that relies on heavy mineral blues and greens and sometimes gold and silver. Whereas gongbi works emphasised meticulous and tidy focus, in turn preventing independent and expressive freedom, the xieyi method favoured sweeping broad swaths of ink, encouraging flowing forms, and created dramatic works contrasting to his earlier style.

Zhang's most prolific period came about the mid1960's, around their departure from South America, and at the time this present piece was executed. Zhang's residence in Brazil, Ba De Yuan (The Garden of Eight Virtues), was both vast and opulent, with an excavated lake and five pavilions, and it was here he produced some of his most powerful and innovative works during this period, creating a series of almost abstract paintings in his Brazil studio, which were the centerpiece of his first Laky Gallery exhibition.

This splashed-ink landscape synthesis is probably the most significant fusing of Chinese and Western elements with its bold approach, fluid and free brushwork.

AMORPHOUS LANDSCAPES

In this present lot, Zhang brilliantly builds shapes, colours, and textures, creating wisps of clouds and dense vegetation with minimal brushstrokes , amorphous forms delineating details of the mountain ridges and the surrounding scenery in remarkable accuracy. A sense of majesty, grandeur and ambition is felt, where the top dominating splashes of green and blue exude dynamism and perpetual movement.

Here, colour is integral to structure, compared to the subordinate and ornamental role it would have played in a more traditional setting – this new language opened up his vision and place as an artist to a global platform.

The aura of this present lot, Splendour of the Peak, is both moody and evocative, its composition leading our eye to explore the scenery and appreciate the solitude of the dwellings in the house in the middle of the mountains. The rocky mountainside on which the houses stand imposes a hostile environment which the artist has skillfully rendered via varying layers of pigment and pressure. It is indeed remarkable that he was able to communicate such depth via this darker hue of ink and upon closer inspection, the viewer is able to see that colours of green and blue subtly infiltrate, echoing the life of the surrounding vegetation. As we travel up and around the mountains, upon the demarcated path Zhang deliberately left untouched by ink, we make our way to the summit, greeted by an explosion of intense colours and life.

A further nod to the classical Tang dynasty and the mesmerizing cave paintings of Dunhuang which he studied for several years, these vivid blues, greens and the autumnal flash of red were composed from the same mineral pigments of azurite, malachite and vermillion resulting in a beautiful landscape that pays homage to the enchanting peaks and valleys of China.

UNIQUE BASE – GOLD AND SILK

Throughout his career, Zhang experimented with a plethora of canvasses and indeed, the foundation of silk would have proved the most challenging. It is likely this painting was intended as a panel for a Japanese screen evidenced by the textural quality of the weave.

Such painted screens often in panels of four and six, although mostly documented as having the lotus flower as their subject, have been recorded with a similar year of execution. It is known that the artist had a favourite Japanese store where he ordered most of his painting supplies, but what makes this particular work unique is not only its scale, also the employment of gold paint pigment on the surface of the silk which the artist began experimenting with only after his travels to California, perhaps inspired by the golden light and coastal colours he witnessed. Other recorded paintings note gold-flecked silk and paper but this complete coverage in gold would have provided Zhang with further difficulties since the gold pigment on silk would have increases the absorption of the other coloured pigments at a faster rate decreasing the artist's ability to control the resulting flow and dispersion.

As a foundation for a painting, the beauty and irony of silk is that it is unforgiving on the artist, recording every stroke and contact the ink makes. This work displays much skill and dexterity whereby each mark speaks to a stroke Zhang applied. Despite seemingly unforced execution, the splashed-ink method took considerable time to perfect, requiring much patience and help from the artist's students. Every layer of paint had to be independently dried before the next addition to ensure pigments were properly absorbed and this often meant a single work would take many weeks, months and even years to complete.

POWER, ENERGY AND SOLITUDE

Imagine the artist bending over the painting, using both hands to rotate the silk in order to command the flow and amalgamation of ink working to construct his interpretations of the monumental mountain. When we truly realise the physical energy devoted to creating such a piece, we also appreciate more its hidden vitality and spirit, beautifully expressed by the contrasting sullen darkness against the luminescence of gold.

Zhang created Splendor of the Peak based on a deep foundation in traditional Chinese painting and philosophy, coupled with a long and gradual incubation and digestion of western influence – ultimately, Zhang successfully created a new style, a singular force that continues to awe and delight views generation after generation.

*The total includes Chinese painting lots from The Pioneers Sale which took place on 26 November