Ink and colour on paper

35.5 x 46.5 cm. 13 1/2 x 18 1/4 in.

Titled, signed in Chinese and dated with two artist's seals on upper left
PROVENANCE
Acquired directly from the artist's family by important present Asian collector

Seeking Life of Reclusion, Building World of New Aesthetic
Zong Qixiang's Reformation of Ink Painting

“Most of traditional ink painters were just doing empty talk in their paintings most of the time. There are, however, countless representations, light and shadow in Zong Qixiang's paintings. Zong Qixiang's approach is distinctively creative in the realm of traditional Chinese ink painting, which should be admired.”
——Xu Beihong

As one of the four reformist artists in China, Zong Qixiang is, in the 1950s and 1960s, the first master who started to reform traditional Chinese ink painting with Western painting techniques. Zong Qixiang got enrolled in the Department of Fine Arts at the National Central University in 1939. Under the guidance of Xu Beihong, he started his art experiment by combining Western art and Chinese art. In 1942, he held the nocturne landscape solo exhibition, which made his fame across the nation at that time, in Chongqing. It was news of earthshaking importance for the artists of Chinese ink paintings who adhered to the traditional norms. In the 1950s, during his tenure in the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), he promoted the transformation of Chinese ink painting to Chinese ink and color painting. Zong Qixiang believes that the nature is the best master, and he visited Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan to draw sketches for many times. In 1961, when he was the Director of the Department of traditional Chinese painting at CAFA and responsible for the transformation of the genre, he painted Beautiful Xishuangbanna during his visit to Yunnan. This painting is a paradigm to apply Western art techniques into traditional Chinese ink painting.

The creation of Beautiful Xishuangbanna marks his art achieved another high level after his series of nocturne landscape paintings. By applying the use of ink and colors, he successfully rendered various representations in this painting. He adopts the half-opening composition, similar to the typical composition of the Barbizon School, to create a sense of deep space. In the lower left corner stands the focus of the painting, a lady coming home with a fishing basket. The fences to the right side set apart the residential area, mainly consisting of bamboo houses, of the Dai people. In the yard there are people busy working on the farms. The whole painting renders a scene of peaceful and harmonious daily life. The painting is unique in its creative composition applied in ink painting, while the use of colors is another highlight. Such approach is, no doubt, a successful transformation of traditional Chinese ink painting, as the vertical composition was still the mainstream at that time. Zong Qixiang chooses Xishuangbanna as the theme of his art experiment, refreshing the traditional ink painting with the delightful use of colors. Zong Qixiang is the exemplary master to inject new life into traditional art.

Price estimate:
HKD: 60,000 – 90,000
USD: 7,700 – 11,600

Auction Result:
HKD: 70,800