Ink and colour on paper

32.8 × 43.5 cm. 12 7/8 × 17 1/8 in.

Titled and signed in Chinese with an artist's stamp on the right
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by present private Asian collector from the artist's son Guan Hanxing

Exquisite Artistry, Divine Demeanor
The Debut of Guan Laing's Legendary Masterpiece

“Guan Liang's paintings are concise yet comprehensive, full of vitality and oriental sentiments. The gracefulness of his works is not replicable. The opera figure painting pioneered by him expresses emotions, embedding the spirit of folk performance art.The movements and stillness captured in the works are dynamic, never boring its viewers and its interpretations remains anew in every appreciation.”

――Liu Haisu

Guan Liang was born in Panyu, Guangdong. At the age of 17, he went to study in Japan. He first studied at the Kawabata Research Institute and then proceeded to the Tokyo Pacific Academy of Fine Arts to study painting. During his academic years, he was influenced by Impressionism and Fauvism. He was also interested in traditional Chinese ink painting. He was aware of the concept of Chinese Spiritual Expressionism and noticed the concept's complementary potential with Western Modernism. After returning to China in 1921, Guan Liang began to create oil paintings with a unique style that integrates brush stokes from Chinese ink paintings to depict the subject matter of Chinese Opera in Western oil and watercolour paintings. His style successfully blends Chinese artistry with Western elements, ultimately broadening the horizons of Chinese painting.

Here, three of Guan Liang's legendary masterpieces in oil painting, ink, and watercolour are presented. The first rare oil painting The White Snake is a representation of a dramatic scene in the Chinese Opera The Legend Of The White Snake (Lot 75). The second piece Zhuan Zhu Assassinates King Liao (Lot 73) is an ink painting, and the third piece Xuzhou Crane-drinking Spring (Lot 74) is a watercolour painting. All three pieces have clear and traceable provenance.

Songs and Rhythms of Great Finesse, Essence of Artistry Captured in Painting
Rare Chinese Opera-themed The White Snake

Guan Liang's paintings of Chinese Opera are the most splendid and lively. In his oil paintings, he retains the simplicity of Chinese ink brush strokes, while employing the vivid colour palette of the West. His works are the perfect hybrid of Eastern delicacy and Western richness. As his creative ventures were restricted by the artistic environment of the time, Guan Liang's oil paintings were very rare with no more than 400 pieces in existence. Most of his oil paintings were landscape and still life themed. Only less than 30 pieces feature his favourite subject matter of the Chinese Opera.

The White Snake is based on the well-known opera The Legend of The White Snake. The piece was exhibited at The Art of Guan Liang held by The City University of Hong Kong. Nearly 100 works were exhibited, making the event the most comprehensive exhibition of Guan Liang's work. Only 4 pieces in the exhibition were oil paintings and The White Snake was the biggest in scale, thus showing the significance and rarity of the piece.

All Kinds of Subtle Expressions are Heartfelt, The Innocence of Each Emotion Is Captured in the Eyes

Guan Liang was obsessed with opera since he was a child. From 1927, when he first painted opera figures until his death in 1986, he devoted himself to studying the modality of stage characters and found elements of modern art in his observations. In order to fully reveal the spirituality, psychological state, and temperament of the characters, he realized that the eyes are the key. In his discovery of the importance of the eyes, he states, “the eyes are the focal point. A seemingly effortless stroke requires extreme focus and dexterity. The eyes do not only reflect the actions, demeanour, and emotions the characters, but also reflect the contemplations and sentiments of characters under the specific dramatic environment.” The White Snake is a paragon of this crucial final touch of the eyes, a deciding stroke that determines the essence of the painting.

The White Snake depicts the scene of Xu Xian's first encounter with the Green Snake and the White Snake. Xu is dressed up as a scholar. Bowing his hands to the White Snake, his eyes are widened as he looks down, avoiding the beauty in front of him and hiding his love behind his unperturbed facade. The White Snake, appearing as a lady, is situated in the centre of the painting with regal bearing and confidence, standing out as the protagonist of the play. She covers her face with her sleeve, a classic action of female protagonists in Chinese Operas, which symbolizes the shyness of women when engaging with the men they are fond of. Amid the stillness of the painting, her eyes seem to flutter, the motion emphasized by the different shapes of each eye: One is square-shaped and the other is arc-shaped. Her cherry lips are tightly pursed into a line, fighting to reveal the emotions running rampage inside of her: Panic, joy, anxiety, tenderness, and shyness, all of which violently conflict with one another. In contrast, the Green Snake on the right is calm and collected. She has only recently transformed into a human form and does not possess humanly emotions and desires. She gently observes the interactions between Xu Xian and White Snake, eyes slightly slanted conveying her doubts and curiosity about the world. The three characters in the painting each possess different emotions. The nuances in their emotions are meticulously expressed through the eyes. The magic in the eyes is the most precious and respected characteristic of Guan Liang's painting style.

Canvas as a Stage of Chinese and Western Elements, Mirroring the Dramatic Scenes of the Opera

Guan Liang's skilful depiction of opera scenes could also be found in his oil paintings. In his oil paintings, he used colour and tones to shape the atmosphere, exhibiting the correspondence between human characters and the surrounding environment. During his stay in Japan, he studied the works of Cezanne, Gauguin, Matisse, and other famous artists. He was especially fond of Vincent Van Gogh's Expressionism. Guan Liang dominated his own works with Oriental element, while bringing in hues of Western Expressionism influence. In The White Snake, he used sky blue, orange, emerald green, soft pink, and dark green to paint the background, a different approach to typical Oriental paintings which is representative of his personal style.

The White Snake does not wear the regular plain clothes as she would in the Opera. Instead, she wears a colourful dress that matches her tenderness. The pink dress dangles from her torso and touches the ground, the emerald green belt fluttering in the wind, and the yellow sleeves adding a touch of shyness to her demure expressions. The colour palette portraying her harmoniously echoes the beige, ochre red, light purple, and dark green colours of the setting, allowing her to modestly standout in the painting. Xu Xian wears a blue Confucian style gown. The gown is contrasted with the vibrant colours of White Snake's dress. Green Snake is adorned with a dress painted in two different shades of blue to set off the brilliance of White Snake's dress and to highlight her meek trait. The extensive array of contrasting colours strengthen the personality depiction of characters and also reinforce the relationships between them. The narrative of the Opera is articulated in the painting, the radiance of each character is reinforced by attires, and the connection between characters and the surrounding environment is emphasized through background colours.

Realistic Illustration, Precise Retelling of the Plot
Ink Painting of Opera Characters: Zhuan Zhu Assassinates King Liao

In addition to the Chinese Opera-themed oil paintings, Guan Liang's ink paintings of this theme are also unparalleled. Zhuan Zhu Assassinates King Liao is a remarkable piece with clearly traceable provenance. It was purchased directly from the artist's son Guan Hanxing by a private collector in Asia. It records a story of inheritance.

Zhuan Zhu Assassinates King Liao is a story in Records of the Grand Historian: The Biographies of Assassin-retainers. The story is interpreted into a Chinese Opera Fish Intestine Dagger. The story is set in the Spring and Autumn Period. A butcher named Zhuan Zhu was given the mission to assassinate King Liao. Determined to execute the mission, he hided a dagger in the intestine of a fish and served it to King Liao. As soon as he brought the dish to King Liao, he ripped open the intestines of the fish, removed the dagger and killed his target. Consequently, the dagger was named “Fish Intestines Dagger”. Lin Fengmian, principal of Hangzhou Art College, also had a piece on this theme. Lin's structural abstraction is different from Guan Liang's dynamic form, which focuses on the climax of the plot.

The image presented in Guan Liang's Zhuan Zhu Assassinates King Liao is a portrayal of the moment right before the mischief. o, King

Liao sits at the back, further from the frontal view and is smaller in size so as to show the distance between the two. The spatiality of the painting heightens the dramatic tension between the characters. Guan Liang drew attention to the distinctive thing of the painting – the fish– placing the dish in the centre of the piece. The dagger is deliberately emphasized, coloured in blue and separating the object from the light blue fish. The dagger is distinguished from the fish through its darker shade, but simultaneously conceals itself with the blue colour. Guan Liang employd different shades of ink to differentiate Zhuan Zhu from King Liao. Zhuan Zhu is dressed in a black robe painted in dark and thick ink, showing his bravery and calmness despite the gruesome task he is about to execute. A thick layer of ink spreads out, creating a liquid texture. This technique symbolizes Zhuan Zhu's adaptability. King Liao, conversely, is painted with light, think ink and short brushwork. The outline of King Liao gradually smudges out and becomes blurry at the edges, implying his precarious situation. Through the contrasts of the characters, Guan Liang captured the essence of the Opera. The menacing atmosphere is tensing up, inciting a nervous sensation in the omniscient viewer who anticipates the upcoming events. The three-dimensional representation reinforces the tension, refining the plot through realistic illustrations.

Magnificent Mountains and River, Translated into Splendid Tones on Paper
A Journey between Mountains and Rivers Portrayed in the Watercolour Painting Xuzhou Crane-drinking Spring

Besides Opera characters, sceneries of nature is also an important subject matter in Guan Liang's works as he attempted to integrate Chinese and Western art concepts. The Xuzhou Crane-drinking Spring depicting the Crane Calling Pavilion and the Crane-drinking Spring on Yunlong Mountain in Jiangsu is a vivid example of Guan Liang's scenery paintings. To instantly capture the scenery, Guan Liang used watercolour as the medium, a rare and unique choice in his creations. The light texture of watercolour is similar to that of ink, a telling choice of Guan Liang's efforts to incorporate Western elements into Chinese painting, while preserving the techniques reserved for portraying Chinese sceneries.

In Xuzhou Crane-drinking Spring, Guan Liang constructed an uphill slope with an elevated angle, inviting viewers to following the direction of the slope and visual enter into the magnificent scenery. The trees in the lower area are drawn with faint lines, adding a touch of organic agility and indicating the movement caused by the mountain breeze. Going uphill, the historical sites of Crane Calling Pavilion and Crane-drinking Spring are situated across the painting. Crane-drinking pavilion is situated on the bottom of the slope and to the right side of the painting; Crane Calling Pavilion is located on the top of the slope and to the left side of the painting. The Crane-drinking Spring is surrounded by stone fences. Behind the site is a stone wall with the engraving of “spectacular”, confirming its glory. The exquisite and delicate Crane Calling Pavilion is situated at the top of the hill, the sides of its canopy flaring outward as if the architecture is about to take-off, symbolizing the height of the site which allows visitors to overlook the magnificent scenery upon arrival. The Crane-drinking Spring was built in the Northern Song Dynasty. The famous poet Su Shi once worked as a local official and wrote many poems describing the mountain people herding cranes in the pavilion and drinking from the spring. Inspired by the historical background of the sites, Guan Liang used vivid colours to depict the dimensions of the scene. Presenting the uneven surface of the slope, the artist succinctly incorporated all elements of an extensive area into the restricted space of the painting. Through tones and shades, the piece conveys the distance and dimensions of the scenery. Despite the limited space of the canvas, Guan Liang was able to embody the vastness of the site, fascinating viewers through the intricate layers of the piece.

Price estimate:
HKD: 50,000 - 80,000
USD: 6,400 - 10,200

Auction Result:
HKD: 86400