Page 21 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

According to the famed painter and connoisseur Wu Hufan (1894- 據著名畫家及鑒賞家吳湖帆（1894-1968）在《長江一覽圖》扉
1968) who inscribed on the frontispiece of Along the Yangtze River, 頁的題跋，是卷為「釋石濤（1642-1707）平生第一傑作」。吳
this work is “the most important masterpiece of Shitao’s (1642-1707) 氏又題「石濤與博問亭為生死之交。其畫之傑構大半為博氏所
life.” He further commented that “Shitao and Bo Wenting were 作，斯卷亦其一焉」。可以想見，石濤在題識中曾自云，這幅畫
the best of friends in life and in death. About half of the structure in 作最精彩之處乃出自摯友博問亭之手，其後，吳湖帆收集整理
his paintings was done by Bo Wenting, including this handscroll.” 了這些信息，並得出如此結論。這位反復被提及的「博問亭」
It is obvious that Wu Hufan gleaned this information from Shitao’s 先生，其實是愛新覺羅·博爾都（1649-1708），字問亭，是建
own inscriptions, where he commented on the magnifcence of this 州女真部的首領努爾哈赤（1559-1626）的後人。努爾哈赤創立
painting by his dear friend Bo Wenting. The man at the center of all 的後金（1616-1636）在後來覆滅明朝（1368-1644），入主中
this attention is Aixinjueluo Bo Erduo (1649-1708), whose sobriquet 原，建立清朝（1644-1911）。作為清宗室一員，還被封為三等
is Wenting. He was a direct descendant of Nurhaci (1559-1626), 輔國將軍，但博問亭在政事上卻並不活躍。他過著錦衣玉食的貴
the Jurchen chieftain who unifed the various tribes and founded the 族生活，經常與當時一些著名的畫家（如王原祁、石濤）和文人
Manchu dynasty which later conquered the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). （如王士禎）交往，揮毫筆墨，鑒賞書畫，飲酒賦詩。博問亭以
A member of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) imperial household who 飽讀詩書，才氣縱橫而聞名，並且著有十二卷文學作品。其與石
held the title of “General of Assisting the State” in the third rank, Bo 濤的密切交往更是成為美談，正如石濤在題識中所敘。
Wenting, who was not politically active, lived an affuent life of elegant
refnement and surrounded himself with leading painters (such as Wang 這幅巨幅長篇的畫卷，仿佛帶領著觀賞者進行了一次令人心馳神
Yuanqi and Shitao) and literati (such as Wang Shizhen) of the day. He 往的長江之旅。高聳入雲的壯麗山峰，陸離迷人的怪石嶙峋，莊
was known to be very learned and well-versed in classical Chinese, 嚴而充滿靈性的寶塔，騎驢旅人的大膽無畏，孤立村莊的安詳自
leaving behind a legacy of twelve volumes of literary works. His close 在，以及江上小舟的平和寧靜，都在各式各樣的片段中被精心描
relationship with Shitao was well-known, and is corroborated by the 繪，歷歷在目。每一段小插曲都精美到值得成為獨立的畫作。此
encomium in Shitao’s inscriptions. 幅畫的柔和色彩，喚起了以唐代畫家李思訓（651–718）、李昭
道（活躍於八世紀早期）父子為代表的青綠山水。和早期畫家一
A handscroll of monumental length, the painting takes the viewers on 般，他們用石青與孔雀石作為藍綠色素。
an exhilarating journey along the Yangtze River, where the grandeur of
tall peaks, intrigue of grotesque rocks, spirituality of hill-top pagodas, 除了眾多清代文人歌頌讚揚的題跋，二十世紀大師張大千
fearlessness of travelers on donkeys, serenity of isolated villages, and （1899-1983）也留下了他的讚美。根據張大千的說法，吳湖帆
peacefulness of sailing boats, are all carefully delineated in myriad 展示這幅畫給他觀賞，並請他題跋。他提到博問亭在這幅創作中
vignettes, each capable of holding its own. The subdued color palette 的角色，同時稱讚石濤的「畫筆恣肆如揚子出峽奔騰浩瀚」，以
evokes the blue-green landscape popularized by Tang dynasty (618- 及此卷的巨大與色彩。
907) painters Li Sixun (653–718) and his son Li Zhaodao (act. early
8th c.), who, like all the early painters, used azurite and malachite
as pigments for these colors. In addition to the many laudatory
inscriptions by Qing literati, the 20-century master Zhang Daqian
(1899-1983) also wrote his praise for the work, stating that Wu Hufan
showed him this work and asked him to inscribe it. Besides discussing
Bo Wenting’s role in this painting’s creation, he called Shitao’s
brushwork “spontaneous and self-indulgent, much like the torrents
gushing through the gorges of the Yangtze River.” He also applauded
the monumentality of the painting as well as its color scheme.

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