Page 44 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings Hong Kong Dec. 1 2015

LOT 1148
FROM AN IMPORTANT ASIAN COLLECTION

This impressive landscape was inspired by Wang Meng’s (1308-1385) Reading in the Spring Mountains, which now resides in the
Shanghai Museum. Zhang Daqian completed this interpretation of Wang Meng’s masterpiece at the end of 1947. After returning from
studying the Dunhuang wall murals in 1943, Zhang Daqian began to intensely study works from Song andYuan artists, copying works
from Wang Meng and Wu Zhen (1280-1354) in the determination that he would surpass the renowned masters.‘Of the Four Masters
of the Yuan Dynasty’, Zhang Daqian once wrote, ‘Wang Meng’s style is the most superior. Every Ming and Qing artist learned from
him, but no one could match his insurmountable achievement – not even Shitao or Kuncan who were the most innovative.’
Zhang Daqian’s reinterpretation of Wang Meng’s Reading in the Spring Mountains features towering mountains evocative of the
Yuan master’s. The foreground exhibits thatched pavilions hidden among the swaying pine that house the scholarly figures. While
emulating the Song and Yuan masters, Zhang Daqian was determined to paint meditative works that, during a period of unrest and
unpredictability, celebrated the serenity of a mountain retreat.
Born 1947, the master of the studio Chai Sian Kwan is the famous director, Yang Fan (born 1947). Originally from the Hengshan
area in Hunan, he has studied abroad in the United Kingdom, the United States and France. An enthusiast of film, photography,
music and fine arts, Yang is a passionate collector of Chinese paintings and calligraphy, and befriended many artists, including Zhang
Daqian.

1947

1947

1148

ZHANG DAQIAN (1899-1983)

Landscape in the Style ofWang Meng

Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
119.7 x 58.3 cm. (47 ¿ x 23 in.)
Inscribed with a poem and signed, with two seals of the artist
Dated eleventh month, dinghai year (1947)
Further inscribed by the owner of Chai Sian Kwan, with two collector’s seals

HK$8,500,000-10,000,000
US$1,200,000-1,300,000

1947

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