Page 91 - Fine Classical Chinese Paintings SOthebys Hong Kong April 1 2019

Elegant in its style and sophisticated in its poetics, this work Coming from a lineage of art collectors, Di Baoxian (1873-
of Red Evening Twilight and the Lone Swan on silk captures 1939) was proficient in both calligraphy as well as art
the essence of the famous couplet by the ingenious early appreciation, who established Eastern Times followed by
Tang poet Wang Bo. With no inscriptions nor seals, the piece Youzheng Publishing.The art collection of the Di’s family
was formerly attributed to be a work by Qu Ding from Song started from Di Baoxian’s ancestors. His father, Di Xuegeng
dynasty. According to the later colophon by Di Baoxian, it is (courtesy name Mannong, 1820-?) featured a prominent
known that this piece was from the late collection of calligra- collection. As Di accounted, “My late father loved paintings
pher Deng Shiru, alongside with another piece attributed to as much as his own life. All four walls of our house were lined
a Tang Dynasty Painting, Maiden Appreciating Spring at the by important works by famous masters from different eras.”
Courtyard (fig.1),and both of which had been acquired expen- After Di’s death, his collection was entrusted to collector Ye
sively. This work was published in Rare Paintings of Sung and Gongchuo which, according to the accounts of calligrapher
Yuan Dynasty by Youzheng Publishing in 1924. It was later Chen Dingshan, would be passed on to Wei Tingrong, before
exhibited and published in the First National Art Exposition finally ending up in the Shanghai Museum in the post-war
(fig.2). era. Whether or not Red EveningTwilight and the Lone Swan
had been passed on to Wei is yet to be investigated.
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