Watercolor on paper

55 × 75 cm. 21 5/8 x 29 1/2 in.

Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom left

LITERATURE
2009, Exhibition of Taiwan artists in Paris during the 60s, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei, p.21
EXHIBITED
11-21 Apr 1989, Exhibition of Shiy De-Jinn, East Gallery, Taipei
2-26 Jul 2009, Exhibition of Taiwan artists in Paris during the 60s, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Taipei

PROVENANCE
East Gallery, Taipei
Private Collection, Asia

Note: This artwork is attached with an exhibition label of Taipei East Gallery on the reverse

This artwork is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by East Gallery, Taipei

The Happiness of Mountains and Streams as Profound as ever
Shiy De-Jinn’s Ultimate Masterpiece
Shiy De-Jinn was one of President of the National Hangzhou Academy of Art Lin Fengmian’s five most outstanding disciples. His life’s work reflects the influence of Lin Fengmian’s creative tenet of “seeking inspiration and nourishment from nature”. After relocating to Taiwan in 1948, Shiy made Taiwanese scenery and cultural customs the focus of his work. While, initially, Shiy’s work featured subject matter such as Taiwanese temples and ancient edifices, he turned his gaze to natural scenery free of man-made structures at the beginning of the 1970s. Toward the end of his career, in addition to developing a preference for blue and purple color schemes, he began to incorporate a characteristic of traditional Chinese painting known as “separating ink into five shades” into his free-flowing brushwork as a means of representing the vibrant beauty of the natural world. It is with these stylistic developments that Shiy is thought to have reached the height of his craft. The works up for auction, Tamsui Guan-yin Mountain (Lot 688) and Calligraphy (Lot 689) , are two of the most profound works from the twilight of his career.
Inner Tranquility Reflected in Nature
Tamsui was a pivotal source of inspiration for Shiy De-Jinn’s work. This region boasts many traditional buildings, an idyllic river shore, a sandbank, and, of course, the majestic Mount Guan-yin — all of which were beloved by Shiy and featured in his work. Shiy often travelled to Tamsui where he would paint in nature as a means of projecting his soul onto the beautiful natural environs. The work Tamsui Guan-yin Mountain depicts the natural world in its most pristine colors and forms, unsullied by human-made structures and pollution.
In this work, the artist uses light ink to trace the outline of the mountain range before filling it in with purple and blue inks of differing degrees of opacity, demonstrating the traditional Chinese ink-wash characteristic of seperation ink into five shades. The rolling mountain range and the form of the trees below complement one another, while the resplendently green fields contrast with the obscurity of the distant mountains, drawing viewers in and immersing them in a diverse visual realm. With great prowess honed through years of training and reflection, Shiy De-Jinn evokes not only the unique cultural and natural landscape of Tamsui, but his own inner world of transcendence and tranquility.
The Uninhibited Passion of the Old Toper
Beginning in 1969, Shiy devoted himself to emulating stone rubbings from the Han and Qin Dynasties, reaching new heights in his mastery of Chinese calligraphy. His calligraphic works in clerical script, which he completed toward the end of his career, feature precise and forceful brushstrokes that reflect his vigor and determination in life. In 1980, not even a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer could distract Shiy from his creative process. Although his grueling cancer treatment required him to do things like consuming foul-tasting bile, he was still able to find joy in painting natural scenery and practicing calligraphy. This calligraphy work was completed in the last two years of his life. Despite his suffering, Shiy De-Jinn maintained an optimistic outlook. Through wishful thinking, he was able to transform the discomfort of his consumption of bile into the pleasure of drinking wine, all while using calligraphy as a way of bolstering himself against the demon of cancer. The two ideograms in this work, refer to a line of a poem by Ouyang Xiu entitled An Account of the Old Toper’s Pavillion: “The happiness of mountains and streams is obtained in the heart and lodged in wine.” Shiy channeled his lifelong love of “mountains and streams” into this work and even in sickness, he was able to convey his inner joy and boundless passion through his brushwork.

Price estimate:
HKD: 350,000 - 450,000
USD: 44,900 - 57,700

Auction Result:
HKD: --