Page 135 - Beyond Compare Christie's Hong Kong RU WARE .pdf

fig. 1 Yu Chengyao, Endless Yangtze (details), 1973.
ॱˏ δᇥਸǗ㟌ᥨ⭦㕴ॱǘ䢮൐㒴䢯 ໝη

an aesthetically pleasing contrast, masterfully immersing viewers waters, thereby highlighting the difficult and dangerous mountain
in the varying landform and scenery. Compared to Yu’s 1973 hand roads that link the Chinese province of Shaanxi with Sichuan. Yu
scroll Endless Yangtze, the present lot Magnificent Landscape not only had a profound understanding of geomorphology, probably gained
showcases the vigorous touch and painterly quality characteristic of from his experiences in the army. Breaking away from the techniques
Yu’s technique, but also displays greater naturalness and freedom of of classical Chinese ink-wash painting, Yu set great store by the
composition. The trees and islets are in their element, well-arranged in orchestration of layers of ink and brushstroke, insofar as to offer
picturesque disorder with charming effect. The painter vividly portrays the viewers an immersive experience, as if they personally enter the
the spellbinding landscape along Yangtze River with short strokes imbricating scenes dancing in this painting. In addition, Yu provided
and blots, adding permutations of these strokes, blots and colours at multiple perspectives from a bird’s-eye view in a single composition.
irregular intervals. The mountain peaks and rocks are richly tactile Along the hand scroll, the distance between both riverbanks varies,
and robust, which serves as a reciprocal foil to the distant mist, subtly
so do those of the mountains and fields, which dramatically produces
rendered with pastel shades of colour. The noble spirit of “mountains
the hypnotizing visual effect that different scenes unfold as the viewer
and ravines stretching to the stronghold Jingmen” is reminiscent of
reveals new stretches of the scroll, enabling them to explore and
A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains (fig. 2), a masterpiece by Wang
admire the wonderful scenery, as well as find spiritual delight in the
Ximeng, a distinguished painter of the Northern Song Dynasty. Yu
engrossing composition.
has chosen to use bold colours in his work, adding brilliant shades of
green tangerine yellow, vermilion and cobalt blue to sprawl out along Taking a stroll down memory lane, we may recollect that Shi Tao, a
the extending trees and hills. Thus, Magnificent Landscape is nothing if famous painter in the early Qing Dynasty, created an incomparable
not a modern interpretation of classical landscape painting. painting Travelling Extensively to Draw from Actual Landscapes (fig. 4)
at a tremendous speed after he visited Beijing. Shi applied multiple
As the longest river in China, the Yangtze has been a favored subject of
wrinkle methods to form an imbricating structure, presenting the
literati and artists since ancient times. The oil hand scroll The Yangtze
rheological views of magnificent rivers and mountains that hugely
River in 1974 (fig. 3) created by Wu Guanzhong in the 1970s features
humble the viewer. Yu carried on this creative philosophy, representing
the use of Western skills in expressing the composition, chiaroscuro
invented scenes based on his real-life experiences. He showed
and artistic conception of classical Chinese ink-wash painting. The
snowy Tibetan plateau, the terraces in Sichuan Basin, and the city forth his memories of inspiring landscapes vividly in his paintings,
ablaze with lights maintain harmonious relations with one another creating compositions that give perfect structural interpretations. Yu
in this entrancing painting. The dynamism of the grand river and perpetuated the ethos of literati landscape painting; to wit, “emulating
mountains manifests itself in the bird’s-eye view afforded by this work. nature, and inspired by inner comprehension,” just as he personally
What we see is an awe-inspiring landscape steamed up by clouds and stated: “I tried in vain to recapture my checkered past, yet fortunately
mists that render the composition highly animated and ethereal. Its my previous sketches are at hand. A little epiphany happened to me
narrativity and aesthetic quality make each shine more brilliantly in while reviewing these sketches and we become a relational duality,
the other’s company. In Yu’s Magnificent Landscape, by comparison, a through which I know that all my impressions and sentiments
different scene is brought to life. This landscape painting radiates a inflamed on sightseeing trips ooze picturesque charm and artistic
magical aura of elegant density and purity, favoring mountains over conception.”

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