Oil on canvas

100 × 200 cm. 39 3/8 x 78 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese and dated on bottom left
PROVENANCE
Important Private Collection, Asia

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist

The Champion's Palace in Spring, Always Picturesque

Other than his interest in landscape painting, Pang Jiun also produced cultural landscapes incorporating Hui style architecture, through which he discovered a painting style that combined classical and modern literati painting approaches. One such example is the artist's renowned “Champion's Palace” (Zhuangyuan Lou) series of works. The auctioned work The Champion's Palace in Spring is particularly eye-catching and large in size on this subject matter. Through a mixture of Eastern freehand brushwork and Western oil painting, the two-meter-long painting presents an unparalleled contrast of ancient building and colorful flowers. At the same time, the elegant style highlights new meaning and is a testament to Pang's self confidence.

“Zhuangyuan Lou” can be traced back to ancient times, when a special wall was built to publicly display the names of those who passed the imperial examination. A total of 28 people from the Huizhou area qualified as Zhuangyuan (principal graduates) going all the way back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and thus the area became known as “principal graduate town.” As a result, the term “Zhuangyuan Lou” also became synonymous with the high stepped gable associated with Hui architecture.

In this work, Pang uses white walls and black roof tiles to establish the basic tone of the piece. He also chooses a parallel viewing angle, so the square and upright stepped gable forms well-spaced geometric forms, in the same way Anhui ink on Xuan paper, highlights the sense of purity in clear lines. In the mid-distance we can see luxurious gateway arches, symbolizing wealth and nobility. The rear courtyard is replete with a heightened sense of spring, full of blooming flowers and randomly outstretched branches. The exquisitely stone-carved decorative openwork windows connect the scenery inside and outside the courtyard, a combination that infuses the ancient unadorned elegance of the building with a sense of spring spirituality. This work blends nostalgia for the past with modern sentiment, offering a contemporary adaptation of traditional scenery based on Eastern literati cultivation, while showcasing the boundless life energy of tradition.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
USD: 154,800 – 193,500

Auction Result:
HKD: 3,068,000