Ink and colour on porcelain plate

Dia. 20.8 cm. 8 1/8 in.

Signed in Chinese on bottom left
PROVENANCE
9 Mar 1997, Hong Kong Auctioneers & Estate Agency Limited, Lot 58
Important Private Collection, Asia

Images Imbued with Real Life
The Wonderful Operatic Characters of Guan Liang

As an important advocate during the early years of the modernist Western painting movement in China, Guan Liang established an international reputation by creating a unique style that combined Eastern and Western elements. In this context, he also successfully developed a brand new genre of ink work in the 20th Century Chinese art world —— paintings of operatic figures. Through his powers of expression, which are “blunt but delicate, true but skillful, soft but strong,” Guan not only influenced the direction of modern Chinese aesthetics, but also expanded the “integration of East and West” promoted by Lin Fengmian into the realms of literature and opera. He also utilized the clear “narrative” nature of his works to differentiate them from the ink figure paintings of contemporaries.

Bravery and Devotion, Painting 'Outlaws of the Marsh' Ink Figures

In 1976, after a decade of political chaos, Guan Liang returned to painting, using operatic figure works to give voice to a creative passion accumulated over many years. On sale at the current auction, Lin Chong Joining Liangshan Band (Lot 27) is one of the most important works from this period. The painting, which is large and focuses on a single figure —— Lin Chong —— is unique among the artist's individual operatic figure portraits, while its thematic origin in ancient literature makes it an even rarer and unsurpassed classical work. In this painting, Guan's self confident brushwork showcases the heroic braveness of “Panther Head” who led the way up Mount Liang. Lin's frown and the angle of his eyes, his determined gaze and steady gait, perfectly demonstrate the demeanor of the “chief military instructor to the 800,000-strong Imperial Guard.” This “Liangshan Hero” is depicted in a mixture of dark and light colors which together with the fine lines, exaggerated movement and fullness of expression, capture the moment the tension is at the highest in Lin's appearance. A large swathe of the background is left white, creating a powerful contrast with the central figure in the foreground. This adds greater depth to the visual layering of the work and enhances the feeling that Lin Chong appears fatigued after his journey from Mount Liang. The scene also highlights the unique spirit of a figure based on a well known narrative.

Stage on a Plate, Overflowing with New Meaning of the Age

In the work Opera Figures (Lot 24) which is presented as a colored ink painting on a ceramic plate, Wu Song is depicted dressed in black, half-standing and holding a sword in his hands. His fierce expression fills the work with a sense of drama and appeal, the strong pose expressing Wu's desire to avenge his brother, his eyes focused on “Xi Menqing” to the right as the two men confront each other. Although this work appears in limited space, it is also infused with a powerful sense of visual tension. As an artistic form with which Chinese and Western artists are familiar, ceramic tile painting highlights the technical proficiency of the painter, but also makes use of the ingenuity of the person who made the ceramic plate. It preserves the willfulness of the brushwork but also uses the exquisite fineness of the medium on which it is presented to highlight the conflict and fusion of medium and material. The roundness of the plate also gives the work a unique sense of being viewed through a lens, while creating a vivid portrait of a character from the “Outlaws of the Marsh” on a small and exquisite stage. Moreover, of the 17 plate paintings by Guan Liang auctioned only 11 include two figures, which emphasizes the rarity of this auctioned work.

Simple and Appealing, Learning from the Ancient Heart

In 1978, Guan Liang painted Chained Traps (Lot 28) based on the opera Stealing an Imperial Horse, one of his favorite classic operas. This work focuses on the two central characters as they face off in the climactic scene of the story. Huang Tianba on the left of the painting twists his beard in one hand while he wields a sword with the other, lifting it above his head in an indication of his determination to prevail. Huang's face is majestic, his stature imposing and his actions display physical strength and courage. On the right of the painting Dou Erdun has his right hand raised as he stares fiercely, eyebrows raised to the heavens, the anger spilling over into his beard. Guan uses simple strokes to depict both spirit and physicality, his brushwork replete with the unique ideas of the times. His portrayal presents Dou Erdun, a roving bandit, as having a true heart while ingeniously highlighting his many distinguishing features. As a result, the artist imbues his every action with the air of a hero who has risen from lowly beginnings and remained steadfastly patient in his pursuit of revenge for 30 years. However, Dou is simultaneously a picture of the free-and-easy chivalry of a wanderer taking pleasure in revenge. After trying to fathom the motivations of the protagonists, Guan employs his honed simple brushwork to highlight the character of each combatant based on an interpretation of external and internal complexities. In this way, he highlights the joy, displeasure, anger and cursing of historical figures on stage, evincing the spirit of the times in his reverence for the past.

Judging by Appearance, Debating the Rights and Wrongs of Life In the painting Genuine Li Kui (Lot 25), Guan Liang focuses on the “Black Whirlwind” Li Kui, as he depicts the ups and downs of another heroic story. Each down-to-earth short stroke has its own strength, as the artist paints in detail the similar-looking faces of two figures in bold and unconstrained physical poses. Moreover, he presents “one dark, one white” figure to draw attention to the innocent/guilty mindset of a real and fake Li Kui, ingeniously placing the figures one above the other to contrast the huge difference in their status and spiritual bearing. The right way to interpret this work is “distinguishing between real and fake, high and low,” which is why the artist pours his subjective feelings into the painting as an example of the Eastern philosophy of “harmonizing object and ego.”

At the same time, Guan includes shapes in the figure compositions and based on the way the two versions of “Li Kui” are presented deliberately exaggerates the size of their heads to further highlight the fact that “one is good, one evil.” The artist also makes full use of a rich array of changes in ink lines, utilizing fine brushwork to detail the facial expression and physical movements of Li Kui and his ghost double, while using thicker strokes to show their clothing flapping in the wind. As a result, the work adopts a balanced approach that reflects Guan's meticulous technical thinking and refusal to stick to formalities even in his later years.

It is worth noting that this work was produced by Guan Liang for Lu Guwei, a senior reporter at the Shanghai Liberation Daily who was renowned for his reports on Ba Jin over many years. In the 1990s, Lu bravely wrote about Ba Jin's reflections on the Cultural Revolution in The Inversion of Truth and Falsehood. Perhaps Ba's belief in “constantly speaking the truth” resonated with Guan, or Lu's insistence on “the truth” provided him with the spiritual support he needed, but whatever the connection Guan in Genuine Li Kui reveals the victory of “truth” and “justice.” Moreover, this gamble on “life” and “ideals” alludes to the true state of mind that informed the artist's “dialectical thinking” on the environment he experienced in that “Great Era.”

Modern Beauty, Reciting the Song of Life

When compared to Guan Liang's earlier work Interrogating Hong Niang from Romance of the Western Chamber, the “Hong Niang” figure in his 1981 painting Zhang Sheng and Hong Niang (Lot 26) moves from a supporting role to center stage. In this work she wears a bright yellow top with an orange-yellow cloud shoulder wrap decorated with auspicious cloud totems. Through this transformation from the earlier shabbier figure and the use of colors usually reserved for the influential position of the “highest imperial concubine” Guan imbues her with a newfound elegance. In the painting, the two figures face each other, the man dressed in all black simple attire, which highlights even more the elevated status of Hong Niang. The lowering of Zhang Sheng's left shoulder as he greets her raised arms creates a sense of momentum as one hand moves down and the other ascends. In addition, Zhang gazes at the floor while Hong Niang's eyes look up as he leans forward, as if about to speak the immortal words “Hereafter I will present you with money and gifts.” This imbues the painting with a rich and vivid literary appeal, while also showcasing the attention to detail of Guan Liang's artistic vision. Indeed, it is the artist's well honed brushwork that perfectly brings together the colors, shape and images in the painting. The work not only gives the woman in the painting a sense of independence and self confidence as a modern beauty with her own agency, it also sheds the restraints of feudal tradition and culture, allowing viewers to savor simple flawless beauty in harmony and quiet. This also denotes that Guan's modern aesthetics and ideological awareness have kept up with the times. The painting was purchased by a senior Asian collector from the artist's son Guan Hanxing in the last century and has been cherished for more than 20 years. This is the first time it has appeared on the market, presenting a golden opportunity for art lovers everywhere.

Price estimate:
HKD: 50,000 – 80,000
USD: 6,500 – 10,300

Auction Result:
HKD: 64,900