FU BAOSHI (1904-1965)
PROPERTY FROM THE FAMILY OF H.H. K'UNG These paintings by two of China's foremost artists of the twentieth century were part of the collection of the renowned financier and government official H.H. K'ung (Kong Xiangxi, 1881-1967). Born in Taigu, Shanxi province to a well established family of businessmen and educated by Christian missionaries, H.H. K'ung, who was a 75th-generation descendant of Confucius, studied at Oberlin College and Yale University before returning to China in 1907. His initial career as an educator was cut short by the political disruption caused by the fall of the Qing dynasty. He was quickly appointed the civil administrator of Taigu and division commander of the local army. Shifting politics obliged K'ung to spend time in Japan, where he met and in 1914 married Soong Ailing (1890-1973), eldest of the three famed Soong sisters and eventually became the brother-in-law of Sun Yat-sen and Chiang Kai-shek. H.H. K'ung served in several critical posts in the Republic of China government: Minister of Industry and Commerce (1928-1931), Minister of Finance (1933-1944), Governor of the Central Bank of China (1933-1945), and Premier of the Republic (1939-1945). During his career he enacted important economic reforms and was among the key architects of China's modern financial and industrial systems. K'ung lived in the United States after 1947 and these paintings remained in the family by descent. As a highly educated and sophisticated businessman, K'ung enjoyed the resources and the aesthetic sensibilities to appreciate fine works of art. His pivotal role in the government and close connections with influential people in China and abroad also provided him with ready access to important artists and collections.
FU BAOSHI (1904-1965)

The Song of the Pipa Player

細節
傅抱石 琵琶行 設色紙本 鏡框 一九四五年作
題識:乙酉 (1945年) 驚蟄前二日蜀中寫,傅抱石。
鈐印:抱石之印、抱石得心之作、軌跡大化、

註:國畫大師傅抱石先生是位博大精深的學者,作為現代中國繪畫的領軍人物,經常把傳統詩歌和傳說作為其繪畫的主題。他對古典文學與藝術的研究是同步的,文學尤鍾情於詩,歷代佳作無不熟稔,體現在他的畫中,隨手拈來即成佳品。 抱石先生取材最多的還是唐詩。
傅抱石根據古人的詩立意,或從中汲取靈感,抓住其精神實質進行藝術再創造,無須題詩而詩意盎然。
《琵琶行》作於唐憲宗元和十一年 (西元816年) 秋,作 者是唐代著名詩人白居易,因他平素寫諷喻詩得罪了許多朝廷的權貴,在唐朝藩鎮勢力刺殺宰相武元衡和禦史中丞裴度的事件中蒙冤,繼而被唐憲宗貶為江州司馬。這件事對白居易影響很大,是他思想變化的轉捩點,從此他早期的鬥爭銳氣逐漸銷磨,消極情緒日漸增多。
《琵琶行》作於他貶官到江州的第二年,作品借著敍述琵琶女演奏的哀婉之音和她的淒涼身世,聯想到自己在仕途的迷茫和絕望,繼而抒發了作者個人政治上受打擊、遭貶斥的抑鬱悲淒之情。琵琶女的音樂和遭遇與自己的生活相互映襯,而瑟瑟秋日更增添了一絲淒涼。在這裏,詩人把一個琵琶女視為自己的風塵知己,與她同病相憐,寫人寫己,宦海的浮沉、生命的悲哀,全部融合為一體,因而使作品具有不同尋常的感染力。
傅抱石對此作的構圖極之縝密 — 對角呼應,人物哀愁 的情緒呼之欲出,周圍黯淡的月光更顯悲愴。造型和色調完美融合,描繪樹木的豪邁筆觸,凸顯出藝術家高超的筆法和對光影的靈巧運用。
《琵琶行》突破了中國繪畫的傳統概念,在當時的政治環境下保持了文化重要性的同時也做到了創新。這是他常畫的題材,1944年的作品現藏南京博物院,此1945年的作品亦更趨成熟。傅抱石以樸素沉著、平實無華的技巧表達了畫家對筆下人物的理解與共鳴,深入生動地表現了物件的豐富、複雜與微妙,實為藏家們不容錯過的一幅抱石先生經典佳作。

孔祥熙家族藏品

傅抱石《琵琶行》、張大千《飛仙》,這兩幅二十世紀最重要的畫家畫的作品,是著名銀行家和國民政府要員 — 孔祥熙的收藏。孔祥熙出生於 山西太谷縣,商人世家,早年就接受基督傳教士的教育。這位孔夫子第七十五代後人,曾留學美國奧布連書院和耶魯大學。1907年回國,投身教育事業,在家鄉辦教育。滿清倒台後,社會動亂。他更被任命成太谷縣商團顧問,指揮和操練商團軍隊。政治氣候的改變,孔先生到日本,尋求更大的發展空間。在日本他認識赫赫有名孫中山及宋查理,也邂逅宋靄齡,宋家三姐妹的大姐,並於1914年結婚。其後和孫逸仙、蔣介石結成連襟。

孔祥熙曾在中華民國政府擔任過不少 要職,包括工商部長 (1928-1931), 財政部長 (1933-1944),中央銀行總 裁 (1933-1945)和行政院院長 (1939- 1945)。在他的事業生涯裡,實行重要經濟改革,為中國現代金融和工業製度發展作了深遠的貢獻。孔氏自1947年定居美國,而孔家多年收藏的書畫和藝術品,亦一直保留在他鄉。

孔祥熙是受過高深教育的成功商人,不只擁有豐厚的財力,同時具有鑑賞藝術的觸覺。曾身居要職,及在中外的影響,有利他結識重要的畫家,亦成就他的珍貴的藝術品收藏。

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拍品專文

Fu Baoshi is considered one of the leading figures of Chinese Modern painting, who often used traditional poems and tales as the basis for his paintings. Fu Baoshi's The Song of the Pipa Player speaks of the melancholy Bai Juyi felt upon hearing the sad tune of the pipa player, and the misfortunes of which she spoke. Stirring up his own feelings of despair over his dismissal from his post as governor, he felt an affinity to her song and her hardships, while the autumn season adds to the chills of adversity.

The Song of the Pipa Player was written in 816 AD by Bai Juyi, a well-known Tang dynasty poet and official. Once the Commander of Jiangzhou, stationed in Xunyang, he was demoted and exiled by Emperor Xianzong over the failure to catch the murderer of two high officials.
Tightly composed, Fu's composition is deliberately and carefully thought out- placed in the corners diagonally across from each other, the characters exude a pensive and melancholic affection, while the gloomy moonlight surrounding creates a sense of cool detachment. Fu's well-modeled and dark-complexioned figures blend well in the overall darkly dramatic tonality of the painting, and the trees underscore Fu's mastery in brushwork and skilful play of light.

Fu believed that "the beauty of a painting will affect the viewer if it first affects the painter", and that successful painting employs calligraphic brushwork which emerges from physicality and emotion. In The Song of the Pipa Player, Fu broke through the traditional notions of Chinese painting and created something exciting and different while remaining culturally significant with undercurrents of political commentary.

In the years preceeding 1945, Fu painted several paintings of the same subject matter and composition. A similar piece is housed in the Collection of the Nanjing Museum-created in 1944, a year before this current lot, one can see how Fu's practise on the same subject matter further developed his inner vision and artistic expression.

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