T his April, an extremely rare splashed-colour gold screen by Zhang Daqian will make its auction debut in Hong Kong. Celebrating Sotheby’s 50th anniversary in Asia, the Fine Chinese Paintings department presents Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen, a masterpiece created in 1973 and treasured by the family of the eminent collector C.S. Loh for half a century. This magnificent work of art features a captivating depiction of a blooming lotus pond brought to life with a dynamic blend of vivid colours and a rich lustre of glittering gold, conveying a sense of wonder that stands the test of time.

今年四月，乘蘇富比亞洲五十週年誌慶，蘇富比中國書畫部隆重呈獻張大千〈花開十丈影參差〉。本作寫於一九七三年，繪潑彩荷花於金屏風，乃張大千筆下稀見之作，並由陸菊森家族珍藏半世紀。取材日本製雙摺金屏風，高寬六呎，氣派堂皇，畫上以水墨、礦物顏料大塊面潑灑，大片荷葉上覆下蓋，迎風招展，配以粉色嫩荷，花瓣素淨，掩映葉塊間，益顯嬌柔欲滴，水氣濔漫之荷塘景象畢現。全畫色調對比強列，豔麗奪目，張力滿盈，足見畫家駕馭此巨製時得心應手，大開大闔間，盡顯其豪爽磊落之個性。

Chinese Paintings – Modern

Enlightenment: Zhang Daqian’s ‘Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen’

Zhang Daqian 張大千
Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen〈花開十丈影參差〉

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T hroughout his life, Zhang Daqian had always been fascinated by lotuses, which are ‘pure and solemn, like the bearing of a gentleman’. He painted countless works of them. In his youth, he began by imitating works by ancient masters including Xu Wei and Bada Shanren. After a journey westwards to Dunhuang, he made great advances in his use of line, and became more skilled at painting lotuses in the meticulous (gongbi) style. From the 1960s, he tended toward more expressionistic and abstract brushwork fused with splashed ink and colour techniques, implying form with formlessness. Over his artistic career of nearly six decades, he tirelessly studied the painting of lotuses, which became one of his most signature subject matters.

He occasionally painted lotus flower works in large scale formats, but very few on Japanese screens. There are only six such large-scale screens publicly known:

1. Ink Lotuses on Gold Screen, splashed ink on gold screen, 1965.
Painted for the artist’s fifth daughter Chang Sing Pei as part of her dowry

2. Recluse in Summer Mountains, splashed ink and colour on screen, 1968.
Painted for the artist’s fourth daughter Chang Sing Shen as part of her dowry

3. Crimson Lotuses on Gold Screen, splashed colour on gold screen, 1975.
Sold by Sotheby’s HK in 2002 for 20.22m HKD (2.6m USD) setting a new world record for the artist, and any modern Chinese painting

4. Ink Lotus, ink on gold screen, 1958,
Painted for his good friend and art researcher, Zeng Xianqi

5. Lotus, 1953
ink lotus on gold screen

6. The present work

As seen above, only a handful of Japanese screens was painted, and Recluse in Summer Mountains was painted on paper, so only five gold screens are known to have been created. Zhang was always very particular about his painting materials, and as screens lined with gold leaves were especially costly, they were only created on commission. The high-production cost and the inconvenience of shipping made these screens a rare medium which the artist only reserved for very important people or occasions.

Furthermore, the gold leaf has a smooth surface that does not absorb water or ink well, so controlling the tone of colours is much more difficult than using xuan paper. The movements of the ink and colour also leave distinct traces on gold, so even the slightest mistake would have ruined the painting.

This splendid work features a captivating depiction of an exuberant lotus pond brought to life. Amongst the swaying giant leaves and long sweeping stems are half hidden pale pink lotuses, delicate and subtle, as if hidden gems waiting to be discovered. The dynamic blend of vivid mineral colours and sumptuous ink against the rich lustre of glittering gold creates striking contrast and presents a breathtaking spectacle. It is an exceptional masterpiece that demonstrates the artist’s bold character and finest artistry.

Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen was painted in 1973 and bears the seal (huanbi’an), which is the artist’s home in California, suggesting that the artist transported the screen all the way from Japan to complete it in his residence in USA. Even at the age of 75, Zhang Daqian was in excellent physical condition. His vigorous yet unrestrained brushwork and the composition filled with tension, seemingly completed in one breath. The magnificence of the painting reveals Zhang Daqian’s bold yet upright character. After he finished the painting, he added the seal ‘What the heart wishes, the hand accomplishes’ (dexin yingshou) in the lower left corner, showing his satisfaction with the piece.

大 千一生鍾愛荷花，喻其「君子之風，其清穆如」，寫荷之作多不勝數。每屆花開，總不忘四方出遊尋覓荷蹤；萬里投荒，水土未合，仍堅持鑿池移植，日夕為鄰。他早年從仿古入手，青藤八大，盡攝神髓；西涉敦煌後線條功力大進，工筆繪荷越見嫻熟；中年後偏向大寫意，復融合潑墨潑彩技法，寓有形於無形，「直到古人不到處」。從弱冠到耄耋六十年間，孜孜不倦反覆鑽研，成就此極具代表性之題材。

他筆下偶見尺幅碩大之荷花巨製，惟如本幅取材日本屏風，則亟稀也，從公開資料中僅見如下:

1. 〈潑墨荷花〉金屏風，一九六五年作，寫予五女張心沛作嫁妝
   
2. 〈夏山隱居〉潑彩山水屏風，一九六八年作，寫予四女張心嫻作嫁妝
   

3. 〈潑彩朱荷〉金屏風，一九七五年作

   （此作在香港蘇富比二○○二年十月釋出，以2,022 萬港幣成交，創畫家拍賣紀錄、中國近代畫家拍賣成交價紀錄）
   

4. 〈潑墨荷花〉金屏風，一九五八年作，寫予友好曾憲七
   
5. 〈大寫意墨荷〉金屏風，一九五三年作
   
6. 本屏

從上可見，採日本屏風之作屈指可數，而〈夏山隱居〉寫於紙屏風，故取金屏風者，袛得五副矣！蓋其用料講究，金箔滿紙，珍貴非常，因屬特別訂製，成本高昂，且在㩗帶、運輸上頗為不便，如非為至關重要之人或事，畫家非輕易動筆。且金箔表面滑，不吸水，難吃墨，控制色墨濃淡上較尋常宣紙更具難度，且行筆運墨痕跡分明，稍一不慎，畫面即大為失色。

本幅寫於一九七三年，大千先以淡墨打底，復以濃墨積叠於上，大片荷葉頓現，復以礦物顏料潑灑，令色墨暈然一氣，入眼盡是一片氤氳淋漓。左方荷梗數杆，挺拔秀立，破水而出，右見繁枝縱放，茂葉重重，上覆下蓋，粉荷數朵，或盛開，或待放，益顯嬌柔欲滴。畫家心思細膩，擅於捕捉荷花瞬間動態，利用層層淡墨形成之墨暈，巧妙地半透紙上金光，光影交錯間，營造恍如風吹葉搖之動感。其用色對比強烈，瑰麗的石青石綠、黝然深邃的濃墨，於金光璀璨的背影上，斑斕耀眼。惟見粉荷，似漫不經意地探首其中，淡妝素淨，與大片濃郁色墨虛實互生，儼如林間清泉帶來縷縷清風，令畫面絢麗而不艷俗，格調高雅，別具匠心。

畫上鈐「環蓽庵」印，可知畫家自日本購入屏風後，運至美國加州寓所中完成。時屆七十五，然身體狀態甚佳，下筆時成竹於胸，氣勢如虹，行筆蒼勁有力，肆意灑脫間收放自如。畫面張力滿盈，似頃刻間一氣呵成，氣派堂皇，大開大闔間，盡顯大千豪邁磊落之性情。寫畢，鈐「得心應手」印於右下，自滿之情，不言而喻！

Past Auction

50th Anniversary Zhang Daqian ‘Pink Lotuses on Gold Screen’

5 April 2023 | 5:00 PM HKT | Hong Kong