Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-chien, 1899-1983)

with two collector’s seals, one on the titleslip. Titleslip by Kao Ling-mei

Inscription:
I try to learn from the Yuan masters but always find myself unable enter the realm of antiquity. I cannot yet free myself from the mannered air of Qingxiang (Shitao). Yuan.

Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Art Gallery, The Mei Yun Tang
Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-chien, 17 April-23 May 1993
Japan, Tokyo, Shoto Museum of Art, The Mei Yun Tang Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-chien, 5 April-21 May 1995
Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, The Mei Yun Tang Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-chien, 28 February-27 April 1997

Chinese Paintings with the Original Paintings & Discourses on Chinese Art By Professor Chang Dai-chien, edited by Kao Ling-mei, East Art Co., Hong Kong, February 1961, p. 21
The Mei Yun Tang Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-chien, edited by Kao Mayching, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Art Gallery, Hong Kong, 1993, pl. 65
The Mei Yun Tang Collection of Paintings by Chang Dai-chien, Shoto Museum of Art,
Japan, 1995, pl. 64

- Generally in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

On Painting Bamboo
The ancients often refer to bamboo-painting as “inscribing the
bamboo”. For the bamboo painter, like the Chinese calligraphist, must
execute his brushwork in accordance with the calligraphical technique.
The first pre-requisite in Chinese calligraphy is the mastery of the
“eight methods” as manifested in the character yung, namely, ts’ê, or
the dot; lê, or the horizontal stroke; nu, or the vertical stroke; ti, or the
hook; ts’ê, or the up-tilted stroke; lüeh, or the declining stroke; cho, or
the pecking stroke; chê, or the trailing stroke. These eight methods
are used concurrently in painting bamboos. To do the bamboo stems,
for instance, requires the application of the seal script technique. The
leaves should be shaped like the characters 个, 介, and 川, though
these patterns should be broken up with one or two non-conforming
strokes. As the ancients say, “The 个 pattern should not be a perfect 个,
nor 介 a perfect 介, nor 川 a perfect 川.”

The artist generally draws the stem first in a succession of vertical
strokes from the top downwards, as in calligraphy, instead of from the
bottom upwards. Each segment of the stem is indicated by a node at
its base. It should be painted in one straight descending stroke with
greater stress at the outset and a slight leftward “kick” of the brushtip
at the end. In this manner the segments are delineated one after
another, each slightly longer than the preceding one, till the order
is reversed near the root. The stems must be completed before the
artist proceeds with the branches and leaves. To “inscribe” the node in
the narrow gap between every two segments, he makes a horizontal
stroke in heavy ink by starting his brush in the opposite direction, then
reversing it abruptly, so that both ends become uptilted. The stem
should be of almost even thickness from top to bottom, neither waspwaisted
nor crane-kneed.

The leaves… should be lively and dynamic. Instead of rendering them
in the same order as geometrical patterns, particularly in balanced
symmetry, the painter should strive to bring about spontaneity….
The technique of inscribing the bamboo in the impressionistic style
also requires indication of depth in perspective. Thus, the bamboo
in the foreground should be painted in deep black and those in the
background in pale grey, in order to enhance the rhythmic vividness
by means of the difference in nuance and depth. But the painter must
bear in mind: (1) that each bamboo must be painted entirely in one
shade, either black or grey, and (2) that the trick of using both heavy
and light ink in one single brush-stroke is a proven foolery which one
will do well to avoid….

When it comes to painting the leaves, the brush-strokes must be steely
and sharp. The firm pressure applied to the brush at the start should be
gradually released in one swift motion, lest the stroke should become
blunt and thick. This is the bamboo painter’s most difficult test. Should
he fail to master the technique, hi work would be so much labour lost.

In painting bamboos, the painter must bear in mind that the stems
should neither be as thick as peach stems nor as thin as willow branches.
He must also try to avoid such technical defects as the following: (l)
isolation of a single leaf, (2) two leaves parallel to each other, (3) three
leaves in a trident-like formation, (4) four leaves crossing one another
like the symbol 井, (5) five leaves stretching out like fingers or a
spread dragonfly. Whether facing front or rear, turning upside down or
sideways, drooping or uptilted, rain-lashed or wind-swept, the bamboo
leaf has its particular manner in each case. The artist must study the
subject carefully before he can ever attain perfection.

Extracted from Chinese Painting with the Original Paintings and
Discourses on Chinese Art by Professor Chang Dai-chien
Edited and compiled by Kao Ling-mei
Translated by Yao Hsin-nung