Page 71 - japanese and korean art Utterberg Collection Christie's March 22 2022

涅槃寂静 | THE COLLECTION OF DAVID AND NAYDA UTTERBERG (LOTs 1-20)

Although Zhang Jizhi is renowned for his monumental writing in
standard and running scripts, such as Song of Twin Pines in Standard
Script at the Palace Museum in Beijing, and Excerpt from Song of
Leyou Park at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, his
medium-sized calligraphy is often more delicate and fluid in nature.
The inscription, yaotiao, refers to a quiet, virtuous grace that can be
traced to one of the earliest poems in the Book of Songs:

Modest and graceful is the gentle beauty,

For a gentleman what a good mate she is.

Here, the balanced and square form of the calligraphy is reminiscent
of the writing of Yan Zhenqing and Huang Tingjian. The
brushwork is confident and forceful, boldly contrasting thick and
thin strokes to create a strong sense of visual drama.

The present work, attributed to Zhang Jizhi, was remounted and
preserved in Japan, where his handwriting was often found in
fragments. The two characters in the Utterberg scroll, arranged
vertically, were likely carefully put together by previous Japanese
collectors.