Page 171 - Modern Chinese Paintings, Hk Nov. 27,2017

The later splashed-colour works of Zhang Daqian in the 1980s are generally regarded to show the
consummate skills and highest achievements of the artist. In his schematisation of the art of paintings,
a balance between decorative mannerism and spiritual elevation remains his central concern. Because
of his deep understanding of optics and perspectives, he was able to manipulate the viewer’s sight
with meticulous movements and fluidity of light and shadow as well as fade and saturation of
colours. Surrounded by an opulent abstraction of azurite and turquoise, the lotuses blossom with a
heavenly glow.

The sublime aura permeating from the painting roots in Zhang’s early fascination with Buddhism
and lotus, or Padma, which is a symbol for cosmic renewal and primordial purity. During his journey
in 1941 to Dunhuang where he reached his major artistic breakthrough, he bought several lotus roots
from the neighbouring city Lanzhou and attempted to grow them in Dunhuang to recreate the lush
scenery of summer. Although the harsh climate of Dunhuang did not allow his horticultural plan
to come into realisation, the journey kept inspiring Zhang’s future creation, particularly in terms of
the use of colours. In contrast to the moderation and subtlety of colours in traditional ink paintings
after the Song Dynasty, Zhang’s work inherits the dramatic profusion of colours in the paintings
of the Tang Dynasty and reincarnates the mythical sensation into a modern form of ode to nature.

大千有云：“畫有三美：曰亮；曰大；曰曲。”大，乃大氣，氣局之宏大開闊；曲，指境界
之深邃曲折；亮則指鮮活生動之感官印象。大千晚年的潑彩荷花已達出神入化之境，乃“
亮、大、曲”之審美集中體現。其強烈明亮的視覺效果，來源於張大千對視覺焦點的研究。
畫中白荷在深邃墨彩的環繞中“猶抱琵琶半遮面”。荷葉、霧靄、漣漪高度抽象，撲朔迷
離，混沌之中更加烘托出白荷之清麗可人。

潑彩荷花之“大”與“曲”，則與大千早年對佛教與蓮荷的傾心有著密切聯繫。在佛教中，
蓮花被賦予了極樂淨土和再生的象徵。而大千之潑彩，氣勢恢宏，深邃神秘，再現了荷花的
法相莊嚴。大千40年代深入敦煌臨摹學習，并在1942年自蘭州買了一批藕根植於敦煌，期盼
能裳風裳翠蓋之景，可惜未果。但飄逸奔放而又莊嚴神聖的敦煌藝術給張大千的創作注入了
無窮的靈感，促使他在宋元溫文儒雅的寫意基礎上，大膽地施展石青、石綠等明亮色彩，延
續晉唐之濃墨重彩的視覺體驗。正如其鈐印“直造古人不到處”，張大千拓寬了花卉繪畫所
能抵達之意境，可謂中國色彩的重生。

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