ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT AMERICAN COLLECTION This painting belongs to Zhang Daqian's family and was kept for his personal and family enjoyment. It served as a showpiece at his house in Pebble Beach. The painting was painted in Brazil in 1967 at his Home of Eight Virtues. A purely splashed-ink (pomo) design, this painting is unique, as most of Zhang's paintings contain the addition of mountains, trees and structures. The present owner, grandson of Zhang Daqian's brother, recalls that Zhang brought the painting with him when he moved from Brazil to Carmel, then later to Pebble Beach, California. At each residence the painting remained in the living room as the main display for his personal enjoyment, as well as to show friends and visiting dignitaries. The painting was particularly cherished by Zhang, as he once stated that it was a representation of water running into one of the man-made lakes on his ranch in Brazil. When Zhang gifted the painting to his grandson, he said that it represented incoming wealth and was always a good omen for him. The painting was given to the present owner in 1972 as a young adult going out into the world. Contemplating Upon an Autumn Landscape was painted in 1967 at the height of the development of Zhang Daqian's semi-automatic splashed ink and colour technique. This creative zenith was brought about partly by his ailing eye sight, which imposed limitations on the fine gongbi painting that he practiced ceaselessly under the inspiration of masterpieces of the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties before the 1950s. The success of Zhang's pomo style should not be read as Zhang's inability to adhere to his previous style and flair, but rather his wisdom to revive a Tang dynasty artistic tradition and renew it with modern enthusiasm. His spacious painting studio in Brazil, which he began to use in 1953, certainly facilitated his focus on expressive and large-scale works, yet it was Zhang's awareness of Western artistic development and his understanding of the taste of Western collectors that made his success distinct from the rest of his contemporaries in China. The artistic vocabulary one uses to describe Contemplating upon an Autumn Landscape is close to those used for major North American art movements at that time, such as Abstract Expressionism, Action Painting, and Minimalism. Contemplating upon an Autumn Landscape gives an abstract impression. Except for the few red trees that are barely visible on the paper, the painting is stripped of any of the fine details usually seen in Zhang's splashed ink paintings, such as clusters of houses. Zhang chose to use colours alone to paint, with an inscription that reads "dingwei year, ninth month, on Lake Wuting". Zhang Daqian's residence in Brazil, "The Garden of Eight Virtues", was an expanse of 30 hectares, with an artificial lake that collected rain water. The lake, with five pavilions (hence named wuting) , acted as a resting spot and a shelter from the rain. Zhang often took inspiration from the sheets of rain that poured down into Lake Wuting, a rapid and fantastical imagery not unlike Zhang's splashing of ink onto his works. In the painting, blue and green remain the foundation colours to depict a misty Lake Wuting, while red and gold roam profusely on the upper part of the painting, giving the foliage light and colour on an autumn day. The gold inscription and the seals impressed with cinnabar paste shine through the darkness and make a perfect ornament to the painting.
紅樹青山 設色紙本 木板鏡框 一九六七年作

張大千

細節
張大千 紅樹青山 設色紙本 木板鏡框 一九六七年作

題識:爰翁。丁未 (1967年) 九月五亭湖上。
鈐印:大千世界、大千唯印大年、八德園長年

來源:張大千家屬。

美國私人珍藏
來源
Descended directly from the artist.

榮譽呈獻

Yanie Choi
Yanie Choi

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1967年張大千於在巴西八德園創作此畫。畫面單純潑彩,沒有山、樹木和樓閣修飾,金光樹綠,氣韻獨一無二。張大千視之為得意傑作,長期掛在圓石海灘環蓽庵,以供賞玩。 這畫現為張大千的姪孫子所擁有,他回憶張大千從巴西遷居美國加州卡密爾,再搬到圓石灘,張大千隨身帶著這幅畫。這作品必定掛在客廳,伴著張大千與他的家人,和朋友渡過漫長歲月。張氏對此畫珍而重之,是紀念在巴西八德園時,水流湧入人工湖的情景,寓意財源廣進的吉祥物。1972年張大千把這幅畫送給他的姪孫兒作為成年禮物。 《紅樹青山》作於1967年,張大千正發展其獨特的潑彩、潑墨風格。這創作高峰的形成,一方面由於張大千視力倒退,工筆畫大不如前,未及五十年代前,好學不倦地模仿宋、明、清的力作。潑彩、潑墨的成功,見證張大千致力更新唐代“潑彩”藝術傳統的智慧與熱情,實不應被理解為他晚年的倒退,反而是進入另一境界。張大千在巴西的居所,有一生最大的畫室,製作巨幅表現主義的潑彩、潑墨作品。另外,張大千對西方藝術發展,及西方藏家品味有深入瞭解,促使他的名聲在同期中國畫家中脫穎而出。《紅樹青山》與當時北美主流藝術主義的畫作,如抽象表現主義、行動繪畫、和極簡主義,是可以用同套藝術詞彙去形容和欣賞的。 《紅樹青山》營造的抽象畫面。除了幾棵紅樹外,張大千在畫上未有加有小屋等細節,只運用了色彩,並在畫題“丁未九月五亭湖上”。張大千在巴西的“八德園”,建在三十公頃的大片土地上,園中有人工湖收集雨水;湖上有五個涼亭供休憩及避雨之用,故取名為“五亭湖”。張大千常在亭上,觀賞大雨傾盆,以取繪畫靈感。自然那迅速、魔幻的影像,與他於紙上彩墨飛濺,有同曲之妙。張大千運用石青和石綠作為《紅樹青山》的主色,描繪了霧氣覆蓋的五亭湖;又運用大量紅、金兩色於畫的上半部,給秋天的景觀加上光澤和色彩。金色的題字和朱砂的鈐印在黑暗中顯露無遺,為《紅樹青山》加上優美的裝飾。

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