Page 37 - Christie's July 8th 2020 Hong Kong Fine Chiense Paintings and Caligraphy

Lofty Five Sacred Mountains,

Dignified Appearance of a Man with Noble Character

軒軒五岳圖，堂堂大人相

As an influential calligrapher, painter, theorist, and connoisseur in Chinese art history, Dong Qichang (1555–1636) drew a parallel from
the history of Chan Buddhism and theorized the development of Chinese painting consisting of the Northern School and the Southern
School. This formulation has exerted a great influence on the painting styles as well as the study of painting history for later generations.

Since he began learning to paint, Dong Qichang diligently emulated works of the old masters. He followed the characteristics of the Four
Masters of the Yuan dynasty (Huang Gongwang, Wu Zhen, Ni Zan, and Wang Meng), and the Mi family (Mi Fu and his son Mi Youren)
of the Song dynasty. He also explored the styles of Dong Yuan and Juran of the Five Dynasties, and looked even as far back as the so-called
progenitor of the Southern School (of Sudden Enlightenment, in Chan Buddhist terms)—Wang Wei of the Tang dynasty and his divine
virtuosity. Dong Qichang sought to obtain the technique and brushwork of the old masters, ultimately resulting in his own landscapes of
southern scenery painted in plain, untrammeled, and refreshing styles. As such, his oeuvre presents a new synthesis of old literati landscape.
Five Sacred Mountains was painted in the mid-autumn of 1616, when Dong Qichang was sixty-two years old. It is one of his largest
surviving works and its accompanying poem is recorded in the Collected Works of the Minister of Rites, an anthology of his literary
compositions. Three years later (1619), Dong re-evaluated this painting and according to his own inscription, “added some touches and
ink washes after another viewing.” It is a testament to the significance he placed on this work. This large composition consists of three
sections of mountain range and three bodies of water. In the upper tier of the painted surface—or the mid-distance in the pictorial space—
stand five monumental, towering peaks. To the right of this section, in the far-distance of the pictorial space, a tall waterfall cascades from
the cloudy peaks, serving as the source of the flowing river in front of the few cottages at the base of the five peaks. In the foreground,
Dong demonstrates his technical skills by painting small hills, trees, rock formations and water surfaces. Overall he used outline and textural
strokes, mixed with dry and wet brush strokes, as well as saturated and diluted ink tones to create this huge work. The reserved areas
used to delineate water and the misty atmosphere lead to an effect of sharp tonal contrasts and fluidity—a signature characteristic of Dong
Qichang’s highly distinctive landscape.

In the past, Five Sacred Mountains has been included in the collections of Tu Zhuo (1781-1828), Tang Yifen (1778-1853), and Chen Baojin
(19th Century). In the early 20th century, it belonged to the scholar Luo Zhenyu (1866-1940), who brought it to Japan and sold it to
the renowned collector Saito Etsuzo (1872-?). Its accompanying wooden box bears the inscriptions and collector’s seal of the prominent
Japanese cultural figures Naito Torajiro (1866-1934) and Uzan Nagao (1864-1942), which added to its renown. In 1928 Five Sacred
Mountains was exhibited at the Tokyo Museum of Art together with more than 600 Chinese painting masterpieces. With its current re-
emergence, once again it dazzles us with its pictorial and conceptual brilliance.

董其昌(1555-1636)是中國書畫史上重要的書法家、畫家、理論家、鑒藏家。他從繪畫史與實踐中藉着禪宗的發展史，建立中
國繪畫南北宗基礎理論，對後世的繪畫風格及繪畫史研究，產生巨大的影響。

董氏自習畫始，勤於臨摹古人畫作，循元四家入宋米氏堂奧，更探溯五代董、巨，乃至妙悟南宗之祖王維“迥絕天機，參乎造
化”之境，孜孜以求古人筆法與墨法，最終形成自家平淡天真，清秀柔潤的江南山水畫風，為文人山水畫開創新境界。
《五岳圖》畫於1616年，是董其昌傳世作品中稀有的巨構之一；畫上題詩收入《容臺集》，時思翁六十二歲。時隔三秋，於
1619年“重觀再為點染”，足見董氏對此畫之重視。巨幅構圖以三段山峰和三段流水交錯形成，上方巍巍五座山峰，右邊遠山
引一瀑飛泉，使山下屋前流水有源，下方又繪山丘林木湖水礁石，尤見功力。畫面純以墨色勾皴點染，筆墨乾、濕、濃、淡次
第運用，水光留白與山氣氛氳，形成墨色光影錯雜，氣息通透，實是董其昌文人山水之典範。

《五岳圖》遞經屠倬(1781-1828)、湯貽芬(1778-1853)、陳寶晉（19世紀）諸家珍藏，晚清民初又入羅振玉（1866-1940）之
手，後攜往東瀛售予日本近代著名收藏家齋藤悅藏（1872-?），又得內藤湖南（1866-1934）、長尾雨山（1864-1942）品鑒，
增添傳奇況味。1928 年《五岳圖》參展於東京美術館舉行之“唐宋元明名畫展覽會”，此次重現，畫圖風采猶然奪人心魄。

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