Boating in Paradise

Created in the summer of 1977, Zhang Daqian's vibrant splashed ink-and-colour paintings stand alone as a symbol of Zhang's ability to transmute ancient art into a unique idiom. Attributing his splashed-ink style of landscape to his exposure to Western methods of expressionism and modern art, Zhang believed that the deterioration of his eyesight in the 1950s was the main catalyst for his new style of composition. Zhang stated in 1970 that the "broken-ink" method allowed him to forget about meticulous fine detail, and instead, focus on what was in his heart.
Without conceding to total abstraction, Zhang adds simple details of trees, houses and men, juxtaposed with bold, uninhibited expression of ink-play. Zhang controls the flow of ink by splashing it onto the main body of paper, and then rotating the surface to channel its flow, thus influencing the final balance and harmony of the ink and intensity. The resultant painting is a landscape both monumental in scale and rich in varying tones of blue-black.