Classic artworks to go under hammer

Ancient and modern ink-wash paintings and calligraphy will go under the hammer at the Rongbaozhai Art Auction House, one of China’s oldest auction houses, this weekend. Big names include Tang Yin (1470-1523), Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), Zhang Daqian (1899-1983) and Qi Baishi (1864-1957).

One of the paintings to be auctioned is titled “Reading poems in a snow-capped mountain” by Wen Zhengming, a leading Ming Dynasty painter, calligrapher, poet and scholar.

Wen revered the artists of the preceding Song and Yuan dynasties, though he rarely imitated them directly. He was also a prolific and well-known writer, whose poems often touched on the subject of painting. He regarded art and nature as being inseparable, and frequently wrote about and painted nature scenes, as well as private gardens.

Another highlight is a calligraphy done by Xu Beihong (1895-1953), a master painter, art educator and a pioneer of modern Chinese painting.

Born in Yixing in eastern Jiangsu Province, Xu began to study Chinese classics and calligraphy at the age of 6. In 1917, Xu went to Japan to study arts, and two years later the young artist received a government scholarship for training at the prestigious Ecole Nationale Supériore des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he learned oil painting and drawing.

Later, he also traveled to several other European countries, such as Germany and Belgium, to further his study of Western painting techniques.

His eight years in Europe greatly influenced Xu’s painting style. He created a number of works that reflected his training there. They include careful drawings of nudes, portraits, impressionist landscapes and large-scale oil paintings.

However, it is rare to see his calligraphy at auctions, and it is said that his achievement in calligraphy, if compared with his painting, has been underestimated.

Preview

Date: Through December 22, 9am-6pm

Auction

Date: December 23, 9am

Venue: Regal International East Asia Hotel

Address: 516 Hengshan Rd