Page 86 - Beyond Compare Christie's Hong Kong RU WARE .pdf
P. 86

One of the Rarest Discoveries in Chinese Art History      ʕ਷ᖵஔ̦ɪ௰ޜ൮ٙ೯ତʘɓ
            Su Shi’s  Wood and Rock is among the most significant classical
            Chinese paintings in existence. It comes from the hand of one of   ᘽ༲˝ͩྡ‘݊π˰ʕ਷̚˾ᖭ೥ʕd௰ࠠࠅٙ೥Ъʘɓf
            the world’s greatest cultural luminaries, it embodies a revolution  ̴̈׵˰ޢɪ௰௫̈ٙ˖ኪइ˗Չʕɓɛʘ˓f̴଄ႊəൖ
            in the creative potential of the visual arts, and it is accompanied  ᙂᖵஔʕ௴Ъ̙ঐ׌ٙɓࡈࠧնfϾМᎇ̴ٙd݊ଢ଼ጐəᅰ
            by centuries of commentaries that recognise its exceptionalism and  ϵϋeڌ࿎̴ೌၾࡐˢٙ൙ᄆfঐ੄˺୚ᝈ࿀eઞীeၾ࢝
            uniqueness.                                               ᚎνϤʔɭʘЪd݊Ңࡁྫྷమ˸Ӌٙ᜗᜕f

            The location of Wood and Rock was unknown to the international
                                                                      ཀ̘ɓϵϋʕٙɽ௅ʱࣛගd਷ყኪஔޢ࿁׵˝ͩྡ‘ٙ
            scholarly community for most of the past century. A household
                                                                      הίή݊ɓೌהٝfᘽ༲ٙସΤίശɛ˰ޢ̙ፗ݊࢕ෂ˒
            name in the Chinese world, Su Shi is the quintessential “renaissance
                                                                      ወfГ˙ዝ̦˸˖ᖵూጳɛԸҖ࢙௹ኪεʑʘɻfϾᘽ༲ί
            man” half a millennium before the Renaissance.
                                                                      ˖ᖵూጳʘۃٙʞϵϋdکʊ݊˖ᖵూጳɛٙՊᇍf
            A Great Name of Chinese Cultural History
            Su Shi was a true polymath, excelling in art, literature and statecraft.   ʕ਷˖ʷ̦ɪ̶ٙɛ
            His legacy looms large over Chinese culture. Su’s verses were
            sung in the streets of the Song empire a thousand years ago, and  ᘽ༲݊ɓࡈॆ͍ٙ௹ኪʘɻdίᖵஔe˖ኪeձ݁ਕ˙ࠦѩ
            remain mandatory reading for Chinese students today. He was a  Ϟՙ൳ٙڌତf˼वɨٙ˖ʷ፲ପίʕ਷˖ʷʕϞഹᑘԑჀ
            child prodigy who went on to achieve the highest honours in the   ࠠٙήЗfՉ་൚ίɓɷϋۃٙ҂˾d஗຅ਂဂ൚dίɽ൑
            imperial civil service examination. At the tender age of 24 Su passed   ʃ܍஗џਨfϾࣛЇʦ˚d̴ࡁԱ್݊ശɛኪɿࡁٙ̀ᛘ˖
            the incredibly arduous decree examination, awarded a rank never
                                                                      ኪЪۜfᘽ༲Յࣛу݊ɓΤग़ഁdڗɽܝһ՟੻߅ᑘٙ௰৷
            surpassed in the history of the Northern Song dynasty. In spite of
                                                                      ࿲ᚑfϋߏჀჀٙ˼dίɚɤ๋̬ఱஷཀəᑙམٙԯ༊d஗
            his genius, Su’s career fell foul of court factionalism. He underwent
                                                                      બʚ̏҂ዝ̦ɪೌɛ൴൳ٙኪஔഃॴfШኋ၍˼˂ረମາd
            successive exiles to ever more remote regions, dying en route back
                                                                      ᘽ༲ٙ˻௄ʥΪၾಃҒᙣݼʘنٙ٧໤ϾϞመεʔනf˼ಀ
            to the capital in 1101 after the end of his final exile. While Su’s
                                                                      ஗ಃҒ׳஼εϣdήᓃே൳೯ჇჃ਋ᄄfᘽ༲׵      ϋd
            voluminous writings have been preserved in China’s literary cannon,
                                                                      ί׳஼ഐҼʘܝeΫԯ௄ʕ஻˰fуکᘽ༲ɽඎٙ˖ኪ௴Ъ
            his paintings are exceedingly rare. Wood and Rock is the only example
            still in private hands.                                   ޫ஗ڭπ׵ʕ਷˖ኪٙ຾ՊʕdШՉෂ˰೥Ъۍ฽މ೽Ϟd
                                                                      Չʕ˝ͩྡ‘މਬɓӷɛϗᔛٙޜ೽ۜf
            An Artistic Revolution
            Wood and Rock embodies a seismic shift in world art history. In   ɓఙᖵஔٙࠧն
            his terse, controlled brushstrokes Su explores painting’s capacity
            to express an artist’s psychological communion with nature. His  ί˰ޢᖵஔ̦ɪd˝ͩྡ‘˾ڌəɓࡈᜓ˂ਗήٙᔷ઴ᓃf
            contemporaries in the Song imperial atelier were required to   ᘽ༲͜ᔊᆎe౛౥Ԅλٙഅجdઞীᖭ೥ڌ༺௴Ъ٫׵ၚग़
            carefully reproduce the world they observed. Su admired their   ɪձІ್ගʹݴٙঐɢfձ˼Νࣛ˾ٙࢗҒ೥࢕dცࠅ୚ː
            accomplishments, but eschewed their approach in his own work.
                                                                      ήልႡ˼ࡁהᝈ࿀ٙ˰ޢfᘽ༲ؚሧ˼ࡁٙி༏dШ݊Іʉ
            Instead he pursued subjects he described as having “inconstant form
                                                                      ۍᒒе͜Ϥ˙όЪ೥f՟Ͼ˾ʘٙd݊৛Ӌ˼˜ೌ੬ҖϾϞ
            but constant principle.” He conceived ink painting as a process
                                                                      ੬ଣ™ٙᕚҿf˼Ⴉމ˥ኈ೥Ꮠ݊ɓࡈ೥࢕Ո᜗ʷՉ༸ᅃɛ
            that externalised the moral character of the artist in the moment of
                                                                      ࣸٙཀ೻fɷϋʘܝdᘽ༲ٙ௴Ъཀ೻ʥ್݊ᜑϾ׸ԈfҢ
            creation. A millennium on, Su’s creative process is still visible to
                                                                      ࡁ੽ҩϜഐྼٙዓ฀e୚ː౜ࠑٙͩ᎘ቃ࿊eᒔϞν૰᜗ছ
            us today. We see it in the sinewy strength of the twisted tree, the
            carefully contoured structure of the rock, and the liquid flexibility of   ݓழٙอ͛϶໢ʕdே̙˸޶Ց˼ٙഅᙃf޴༰ʘɨd೥৫
            the newly sprouting bamboo. Court painters recorded a sumptuous   ᖭࢪা፽ɨٙdމ଻ۃʘڀڀ˰ޢd˝ͩྡ‘dۍঐ੭ჯ
            world before their eyes. Wood and Rock takes us into the mind of  Ңࡁආɝ೥࢕ٙːᜳf
            the artist.
                                                                      ԸІՇЗ̶Θٙ೽˰ޜᘒ
            A Renowned Work by Two Masters
            As the scroll unrolls past the painting we find commentaries   ࢝කவష˓՜dҢࡁึ೯ତί೥ЪʘܝdϞഹዝ˾ᛠሧ࢕ձ
            inscribed by successive generations of connoisseurs and collectors.   ϗᔛ࢕הࣣʘᕚ൸fϾί଺εΤɛඩɻٙኈ༦ʕdᘽ༲ٙᅚ
            Mi Fu (1051-1107), a close friend of Su Shi, is foremost among this
                                                                      ʾϷڇ             ຅݊௰ՈସΤʘɛfᘽ༲eϷڇeරࢬ਺e
            illustrious roll of inscribers. Both Su and Mi rank among the four
                                                                      ၾᇹᑳdΪމ˼ࡁίࣣجɪڢɭٙϓఱd΍၈˜҂̬࢕™f
            greatest calligraphers of the Song dynasty. Mi’s short verse reflects on
                                                                      Ϸڇᔊ೵ٙᕚ൸dЧ˷ίΫᚥᘽ༲ٙɓ͛eᘽ༲ૉϋහ׵І
            Su’s long life, the introspection he was inclined to in his later years,
                                                                      ޲ًٙ࿒e˸ʿ˼ࡁจ່ଉჃٙʾሒʘࠠࠅ׌fϾϷڇஹၧ
            and the profound value of their shared friendship. The undulating
                                                                      ৎͿٙഅᙃձ˼୚ː̻ፅٙοҖၾ஝ܛdɰԑ˸ᜫ˼הࣣٙ
            turns of Mi’s brush and his careful balance of form and rhythm make
                                                                      ᕚ൸၈੻ɪ݊ɓషዹͭ௫Ъfᘽ༲ၾϷڇٙ޴ٝ޴઎d̙੽
            his inscription a masterpiece in its own right. Su and Mi’s deep
            affinity is visible in their paired examples of artistic excellence and   ˼ࡁவՇషৣίɓৎٙ௫ЪଫٝɓɚfᘽϷΥᓴdʔස߉ᜑ
            signify a glorious monument of World Culture.             əவష೥ዝ̦ɪٙήЗdɰᅺႦə˰ޢ˖ʷʕٙΈ࿲ɓՍf
   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91