Oil on board

45 × 30 cm. 17 3/4 × 11 3/4 in.

Signed, inscribed, and dated in Chinese with a painted artist’s seal on middle left
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly by Ting Yinyung’s student Xiong Yuying from the artist

Note: The name in the signature, Xiao Zhide, was a renowned student of Ting Yinyung’s studio in the 1960s, same as Xiong Yuying. Ting originally intended to present the work to Xiao, but later, when Xiao left the studio, he transferred it to the present collector as a wedding gift.

Including the East and the West, Powerful Creativity and Vitality
Ting Yinyung’s rare Fish, Shrimp, Crabs and Frogs Presented for the First Time

"To view Ting Yinyung’s works is to appreciate the modern interpretation of the spirit of tradition, which is rich in the humanistic spirit of the times."
——Pan Fan, Director of the Asia University Museum of Modern Art

Along with Lin Fengmian and Guan Liang, Ting Yinyung, known as one of the "Three Great Masters of Guangdong" and is called the "Modern Bada Shanren", was a pioneer in the advancement and innovation of Chinese art in the last century, with his mastery of oil and ink painting, as well as seal-engraving and calligraphy. He found similar souls among fauvist oil paintings, ancient Chinese seal carvings, and Chinese ink and watercolour. With his primitive and innocent brushwork and pure colours, he found his way to the new era.

Fish, Shrimp, Crabs and Frogs, created in 1969, is one of only 5 oil paintings in black and white that he created in his lifetime, and it is the richest in terms of content. The fish, shrimp, crabs and frogs in the paintings are all gathered together, requiring double the effort in balancing the composition. The amount of his life’s work that combines all four types of aquatic species is rare, with only 24 pieces, 23 of which are ink works, and only one oil painting, which makes it stand out among the more than 200 oil paintings in Ting’s oeuvre.

The Rhythm of the Orient, the Grace Behind Simplicity

Since his student days, Ting has been an outstanding oil still life artist: in 1924, he participated in the Fifth Central Art Exhibition of Japan with his oil painting On the Dining Table, which stood out from the 2,500 entries and was the only Chinese entry. After moving to Hong Kong in the 1950s, Ting’s isolation and poverty resonated with Bada’s half-life of wanderlust. On the other hand, Ting benefited greatly from Bada’s unconventional creativity and refined aura. In 1959, as his career and reputation grew, he made a breakthrough by using a Western medium to complement the Eastern ink bones and painted Fish, Shrimp, Crabs and Frogs in black and white, which completely subverted the stereotypical image of oil paintings of the time.

A Bold Breakthrough Wins the Next Stage

Ting once said: "It is best to use a sheep-hair Chinese brush for oil paintings because the brush has an edge that can be used, unlike foreign oil brushes, which are just like bristles." In this work, he innovatively used the brush of Chinese painting to decisively outline the four living creatures in the water with black oil paint, and in the background, he specially used ivory-white oil paint to imitate the texture of Chinese rice paper on a wooden board, thus interpreting the beauty of ink and wash in a Western painting medium. He was not bound by the boundaries of the medium, and was able to control all kinds of techniques freely, demonstrating his many years of skill in crossing the boundaries of Chinese and Western painting, which is astonishing, but also implies the humour and wisdom of Ting’s character.

On the right side of the painting, two swimming fish, a shrimp, a pair of crabs, and three frogs are gathered in two semicircles, one above and the other below, suggesting the idea of "unity and roundness". The fish and frogs with their exaggerated round eyes and open mouths sing to the sky, echoing the fish in Bada Shanren’s painting in humour and across generations, implying the spirit of the literati. In a few strokes, the shrimp’s crystal-clear body emerges, with a rich variety of shades of black. The two crabs waving their huge claws below are outlined in heavy colours and single lines respectively, with a glossy iron colour that is strong and smooth. The powerful and vivid brushstrokes of large-scale brushstrokes, which do not take into account the smallest details, are truly mesmerising. In addition, by leaving a large area of white space in the background, he brings a sense of space with ink amid the richness of oil paint, which is not only pioneering but also has the elegance and temperament of classical literati paintings.

The Same Origin between Calligraphy and Painting
With Earnestness and Sincerity, Everything Is Achievable

Between the 1950s and the 1960s, Ting Yinyung, who had been on the path of traditional culture for many years, began to carve and paint seals with the knowledge he had accumulated through his appreciation and collection of ancient seals. He discovered the childlike innocence of primitive art in seals. His understanding of carving and refined symbols further enhanced his painting skills, resulting in works with strong calligraphic qualities. Sometimes he even directly incorporated the characters from the ancient seal carvings into paintings.

Unlike Ting’s ink and watercolour works on rice paper, this work makes rare use of a "painted seal" in red oil under the free-flowing inscription on the left side. This seal combines ancient characters and Ting’s symbols, creating a pattern of its own that demonstrates an in-depth understanding of the art of seal carving. The water creatures in the painting are interconnected, and as distinctive as the calligraphic strokes. This masterly and simple brushwork can only be achieved by a person who has a good grasp of his skills.

In his exploration of the Chinese and Western worlds, Ting Yinyung regarded the conflict between Chinese and Western art as nothing and created his pattern by transcending the rules and regulations. The exuberant "qi" under his solid brushstrokes creates a strong vitality, making him a rare artist in the 20th-century Eastern art scene!

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
USD: 127,700 - 191,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,320,000