Page 110 - Bonhams Chinese Scholar's Art March 2014

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8162 of language and composition is strikingly innovative, yet a recognizable
Shi Lu (1919-1982) step in the tradition.
Burmese Woman and Child
Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, inscribed by the artist in both In this scroll, the figures are surrounded by a sea of writing--wiry and
Chinese signed Shi Lu with four painted artist’s seals one reading Shi Lu angular Chinese characters in variegated shades of orange and red, with
hua ji, antother reading Shi Lu. a second inscription in ink inspired by clerical script. Interwoven within the
26 1/4 x 26 3/4in (66.7 x 67.9cm) characters, disconnected strokes echo the characters themselves, playing
$100,000 - 150,000 on their own abstract forms. Between the two inscriptions hangs an iron
kettle, the sharp contrast of black and white recalling the aesthetics of a
石魯 緬甸母嬰圖 設色紙本 立軸 woodcut or a rubbing of a bronze vessel. In the lower left corner a jumble
of letters from the Western alphabet join with cuneiform-like symbols. On
Shi Lu’s distinctive later style is rooted in his early study of painters of the knife another string of non-sensical letters precede a discreetly written
the Epigraphic school (Jinshi pai) such as Zhao Zhiqian (1829-1884) artist’s signature “Shi Lu”.
and Xugu (1824-1896) as well as his study of woodblock printing
prior to 1949. Although painting and calligraphic text have are deeply
entwined in the history of Chinese painting, Shi Lu’s unique integration

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