Ink and colour on paper

68.6 × 69 cm. 27 × 27 1/8 in.

Titled, dated, inscribed, and signed in Chinese on upper right with two artist's seals on upper middle and bottom left

LITERATURE
2013, Master・Guan Liang, Hebei Education Publishing House, Shijiazhuang, p. 107
PROVENANCE
Original Collection of artist's family
30 Nov 2009, Christie's Hong Kong Autumn Auction, Lot 1353
Acquired directly by the present important private Asian collector from the above

Pinnacle of Heroism
The Perfect Expression of Guan Liang's Opera Characters Drunken Li Bai the Poet

Whether ancient times or the present, East or West, the driving force behind portraiture has always been the ability to “present a lifelike depiction.” In the Chinese art world of the 20th century, the artist most adept at achieving this objective was Guan Liang.

Guan Liang painted his first operatic character in 1927 and by the time he passed away in 1986 had worked tirelessly to develop the genre and hone his technique, with the exception of an enforced sabbatical during the Cultural Revolution. In the late 1970s, the artist returned to painting after that period of national chaos and sought to direct the creative passions that had built up over so many years by painting operatic characters, which led directly to new artistic heights in the 1980s. It is in this period that Guan painted Drunken Li Bai the Poet (1984), a work that showcases his multifarious artistic talents and offers the perfect example of his life wisdom. Moreover, he painted only eight opera character paintings based on the theme of “Drunken Li Bai,” with only four having clear provenance one of which is featured at the upcoming spring auction. This piece comes from art collected by Guan's family and as such the auction represents an invaluable and rare opportunity to purchase a work from a private collection.

Riding the Wind and Breaking Waves: Backstage Artistic Flourish
In this square compact composition, Guan Liang depicts four characters, a rare motif in his paintings. The focus is a scene from the classical opera “Drunken Li Bai”. Guan Liang's simple style, ingenious compositional structure and vivid brushwork not only bring the scene on stage to life on paper, the work also reveals the endless fun backstage at a traditional opera, presenting a freeze frame view of this cultural legacy as part of a wider historical narrative.
If we review works by Guan Liang using the same motif in the 1970s and 1980s, Drunken Li Bai the Poet showcases interesting differences with earlier pieces. For example, it is the first time Guan painted a work that brought these major characters together in one scene. This is part of his efforts to construct a far from simple scenario, and he also boldly extends the expressive power of the ink lines and adopts precise brushwork. Whether the light ink depiction of Yang Guifei or the thick ink rendering of Yang Guozhong, both appear malleable, demonstrating that the artist's brushwork cannot be contained by a single form. Li Bai is positioned in the center, wearing a black academic headdress, wide-sleeved robe and black shoes. His hair and beard hang down, but his eyes show strength, showcasing the romantic charm and strong character of this literary giant for the ages. Yang Guifei stands to one side dressed in sumptuous beautiful clothes, the pink and yellow colors a perfect contrast with the plain clothes worn by Li. To the right, Gao Lishi brings the artist a cup of tea and is depicted by Guan Liang as the thinnest and smallest of the four characters. This is a visual allusion that the space is dependent on what lies behind and is contrasted with his expression which is a mixture of surprise and fear, depicting a psychological state of mind that is submissive in nature. This ingenious natural arrangement is the work of a true master artist and Guan Liang uses his strict depiction of details and refined character portrayals to infuse what on the surface appears to be a simple and unadorned painting with a richness and strong infectiousness.

Less is More: A Finishing Touch of Pure Fire
From 1983 to 1986, Guan Liang's creative work focused even more on rough lines, and he held stele-inspired calligraphy in great esteem, both features that reach their apogee in Drunken Li Bai the Poet. The “enclosed” composition of the painting and focus on the actions of the characters demonstrates a rarely seen focus and cohesiveness. Guan uses his brush to bring together the lines of sight of all four figures and this ensures the stage is replete with a rapid succession of operatic plotlines laid out in the space of a single scene. With an exquisite arrangement, he presents a work that is akin to Western Cubism in that it successfully takes time in three dynamic dimensions and successfully expresses it in two dimensions. This displays Guan's mindset and ingenuity in the creative process while also ensuring its outstanding achievement among the same themed works. At the same time, influenced by the “expression” performance of opera characters, the artist attached particular importance to the eyes of the characters he painted. The eyes of four characters are painted as round or triangular, which extends and defines the distinction between primary and secondary roles in terms of relationship and interactions, while allowing Guan to make their expressions of sincere honesty, timidity and anxiety more vivid and lifelike.

Bringing Opera Characters to Life on Paper
Where Drunken Li Bai the Poet differs from Guan Liang's earlier works is that the eyes, expressions and actions of the characters are tightly interwoven with the plot, displaying a unique comprehensiveness - a sense of profundity and skill that comes only with age and experience. Guan painted this work in 1984, the same year he published his memoirs at the age of 84. He ends that book with a recollection about his largest ever ink painting titled “Man Shu of Drunken Li Bai the Poet” for the Overseas Chinese Hotel in 1981. Guan expressed clear pride in that work as a suitable conclusion to his life and as such “Drunken Li Bai” became a motif to which he attached particular importance and on which he focused a great deal in his later years as having special significance as a particularly personal summary. In this context, Drunken Li Bai the Poet is a fitting testament to Guan Liang's life and epitomizes his artistic career.

Price estimate:
HKD: 850,000 – 1,500,000
USD: 109,600 – 193,400

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,003,000