Page 49 - The Pioneers, November 26, 2016 Hong Kong

accuracy. A sense of majesty, grandeur and ambition
is felt, where the top dominating splashes of green
and blue exude dynamism and perpetual movement.
Here, colour is integral to structure, compared to the
subordinate and ornamental role it would have played in
a more traditional setting – this new language opened
up his vision and place as an artist to a global platform. displays much skill and dexterity whereby each mark
The aura of this present lot, Splendour of the Peak, is
both moody and evocative, its composition leading
our eye to explore the scenery and appreciate the
solitude of the dwellings in the house in the middle of
the mountains. The rocky mountainside on which the
houses stand imposes a hostile environment which
the artist has skillfully rendered via varying layers of
pigment and pressure. It is indeed remarkable that
he was able to communicate such depth via this
darker hue of ink and upon closer inspection, the
viewer is able to see that colours of green and blue
subtly infiltrate, echoing the life of the surrounding
vegetation. As we travel up and around the mountains,
upon the demarcated path Zhang deliberately left
untouched by ink, we make our way to the summit,
greeted by an explosion of intense colours and life.
A further nod to the classical Tang dynasty and the
mesmerizing cave paintings of Dunhuang which he
studied for several years, these vivid blues, greens
and the autumnal flash of red were composed from
the same mineral pigments of azurite, malachite and
vermillion resulting in a beautiful landscape that pays
homage to the enchanting peaks and valleys of China.
UNIQUE BASE – GOLD AND SILK
Throughout his career, Zhang experimented with a
plethora of canvasses and indeed, the foundation of
silk would have proved the most challenging. It is likely
this painting was intended as a panel for a Japanese
screen evidenced by the textural quality of the weave.
Such painted screens often in panels of four and six,
although mostly documented as having the lotus flower
as their subject, have been recorded with a similar
year of execution. It is known that the artist had a
favourite Japanese store where he ordered most of his
painting supplies, but what makes this particular work
unique is not only its scale, also the employment of
gold paint pigment on the surface of the silk which the
artist began experimenting with only after his travels
to California, perhaps inspired by the golden light and
coastal colours he witnessed. Other recorded paintings
note gold-flecked silk and paper but this complete
coverage in gold would have provided Zhang with
further difficulties since the gold pigment on silk would
have increases the absorption of the other coloured
pigments at a faster rate decreasing the artist's
ability to control the resulting flow and dispersion.
As a foundation for a painting, the beauty and irony
of silk is that it is unforgiving on the artist, recording
every stroke and contact the ink makes. This work
speaks to a stroke Zhang applied. Despite seemingly
unforced execution, the splashed-ink method took
considerable time to perfect, requiring much patience
and help from the artist's students. Every layer of
paint had to be independently dried before the next
addition to ensure pigments were properly absorbed
and this often meant a single work would take
many weeks, months and even years to complete.
POWER, ENERGY AND SOLITUDE
Imagine the artist bending over the painting, using
both hands to rotate the silk in order to command the
flow and amalgamation of ink working to construct his
interpretations of the monumental mountain. When
we truly realise the physical energy devoted to creating
such a piece, we also appreciate more its hidden vitality
and spirit, beautifully expressed by the contrasting
sullen darkness against the luminescence of gold.
Zhang created Splendor of the Peak based on a
deep foundation in traditional Chinese painting
and philosophy, coupled with a long and gradual
incubation and digestion of western influence –
ultimately, Zhang successfully created a new
style, a singular force that continues to awe and
delight views generation after generation.
Fig. 6 Zhang Daqian at his South American residence, Garden of Eight Virtues
圖 6 張大千在南美寓所八德園中
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