Page 122 - Beyond Compare Christie's Hong Kong RU WARE .pdf

BEYOND COMPARE: A Thousand Years of the Literati Aesthetic

A JOURNEY TO THE PAST

s a collector, authenticator, painter, calligrapher, Wu Hufan devoted his entire life to learn from the classical
Apoet, and writer, Wu Hufan was extraordinarily works of art, and to be a connoisseur and collector of them.
accomplished in the first half of the twentieth century. He With his firm grasp and practice of ancient inscriptions,
was born in a family with generations of scholar-officials and painting, calligraphy, literature and opera, he lived a life which
received a classical education. Surrounded by genuine works fully demonstrated the elegant cultivations of a traditional
of art from the past, he solidified his strong foundation in literatus. He painted Wood and Rock after Su Shi by way
traditional culture. He lived his entire life and also became of emulation in 1965, when he was seventy-one years old.
renowned within the realm of traditional Chinese culture. The Confucius has said that “When one reaches seventy years in age,
four main sources of his collection are: one can do as he wishes without violating propriety.” Following
the footsteps of his family members, since his youth Wu Hufan
1. He inherited his paternal grandfather Wu Dacheng’s
has immersed himself in literature and the arts for over sixty
extensive collection
years. His focus on paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties
2. He obtained objects from his maternal grandfather Shen
after midlife endeared archaism to him. As we view this work,
Yunchu, mostly paintings and calligraphy by Dong Qichang
we could see that he has achieved the complete and nuanced
3. Dowry from his wife Pan Jingshu and gifts from her family, control of the brush. This painting shares much with Su Shi’s
such as Song dynasty rubbings of Ouyang Xun’s calligraphy original and is exceptional in its own right. After he finished

4. His own purchases the painting, Wu Hufan enhances it further with an inscription
of Su Shi’s Cold Food Observance. The calligraphy is similar to
Wu Hufan was familiar with various styles of calligraphy in
the spring blossoming branches, swaying in the breeze. It is
paintings, and inscriptions on archaic bronzes and stone tablets.
precisely like that saying that once the spirit is attained the
His vast collection earned him the nickname “the only eye” in
form is forgotten, once the qi (spiritual ether) is flowing the
Shanghai Bund.
structure is set, the spirit, form, ether, and structure are all
In addition to being a master of paintings and calligraphy and found at the tip of the brush. Wood and Rock made its way to
a skilled authenticator, Wu was the paradigm of a traditional Japan, since then it has made myriad of earthly appearances
southern literatus. He learned painting as a child from copying in its homeland China through the technology of collotype
old paintings. Such time-tested method has no shortcut, but it printing. Wu Hufan based his emulation on one of such earthly
allows the learner to grasp the characteristics of brushwork and appearances in his search of its original heavenly form. Indeed,
ink usage of various schools. It also deepens one’s understanding he has obtained its spirit and structure.
and research of painting history. In 1918, when Wu Hufan was
living in Shanghai and selling painting, he became well-known
as the “grandson of Dacheng”. As he approached middle age,
he concentrated on the landscape of Song and Yuan dynasties.
His style was one of elegant archaism, with no parallel at the
time.

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