Page 206 - Christies March 16, 2017 The Varata Collection NYC

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HUANG ZHOU (1925-1997)
Five Donkeys

Hanging scroll, ink on paper
26 √ x 18 º in. (68.2 x 46.2 cm.)
Inscribed and signed, with two seals of the artist
Dated 1972

$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE

The Giovanna Virata (1959-2011) Collection,
Manila.
The Marie Theresa L. Virata (1923-2015) Collection.

Huang Zhou, who was born Liang Huangzhou in
Hebei province, was strongly infuenced by his
years in the army spent among the minority peoples
of Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. Throughout his
career as a painter, Huang Zhou was inspired
by their dynamic dances and bright clothing. He
brought this same interest in capturing the energy
and spirit of his subjects, despite their humble
status, to his paintings of animals. In particular,
Huang Zhou is known for his depictions of donkeys,
which he studied at length and sketched often. As
can be seen in both this painting and a group of
eight donkeys painted a few years later, which was
formerly in the collection of Robert H. Ellsworth
and is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
(1986.267.444), Huang Zhou efectively conveyed
the ebullient vitality of these animals with quick,
abbreviated brushwork; a combination of young and
mature donkeys in a variety of active postures; and
widely varying ink tones.

黃冑 五驢圖 水墨紙本 立軸 一九七二年作

題識：一九七二年，黃冑畫於北京。
鈐印：梁、黃冑

來源
喬凡娜‧維勒泰（1959-2011）珍藏
瑪麗·泰瑞莎·L·維勒泰 (1923-2015) 珍藏

黃冑，原名梁黃冑，生於河北，曾赴甘肅，青
海，新疆等地當兵鍛鍊，與當地少數民族接觸甚
多。那段經歷輾轉成為他畫家生涯中的靈感來
源，善於對人物特徵描寫，對生活觀察細緻入
微，往以民族風情濃厚的舞蹈以及光鮮亮麗的民
族裝束等題材入畫。他將同樣獨特的視角帶入了
他的動物系列中，所繪動物充滿動勢、生命鮮
活，將生活中生動樸實的事物幾乎不加修飾地移
植到作品中。而提及黃冑的動物畫，毛驢顯然是
不可或缺的角色，他在新疆等地以及文革時期與
驢相處時畫了很多驢的速寫。從此幅畫，以及之
後所創作、曾為安思遠私人收藏、現藏於大都會
藝術博物館的《八驢圖》中，可見黃冑對驢的鍾
愛。黃冑筆下的驢不單是一種畜生，而已進化為
一種精神品質和人格化的寫照。通過粗中見細的
寫實風格，以及簡短的筆觸和線條的張力有效地
傳達了動物的活力，所繪毛驢神態各異，令人讚
嘆不已。

202 THE MARIE THERESA L. V I R ATA C O L L E C T I O N OF ASIAN ART: A FAMILY LEGACY