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Scattering Flowers

Scattering Flowers

Chang Dai-chien (1899-1983), Republican period
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper, 177 x 93 cm

Chang Dai-chien delved in traditional painting since youth, especially studying the style of Shitao. At one time he spent three years copying wall paintings at Dunhuang, also amassing a collection of painting and calligraphy. Gifted at copying, he integrated the virtues of ancient styles, in his late years also developing a new painting style of splashed colors and ink.


From 1937, this work in colors on paper shows a heavenly maiden who is scattering flowers and done in the style of Dunhuang painting. She turns her head and looks back with elegant grace. Done mostly in ink outlines with the main features using washes of bright mineral-based colors such as blue, red, and gold, they give opulence to the refinement.

Vase of Flowers and a Goldfish Bowl

Vase of Flowers and a Goldfish Bowl

Chen Zhaofeng, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper, 231.7 x 117.7 cm

Little is known about Chen Zhaofeng, a late Qing court painter. This large scroll depicts a court arrangement with an enameled flaring-rim zun vase, in which appear wisteria and peach blossoms. The blossoms are precise in the “sketching from life” tradition with not a stroke off. The vase shoulder features a plantain-leaf pattern, the angular openings on the body revealing the main subject of landscapes in ink imitating antiquity. The background is filled with lotus-blossom clusters.


Two vessels of different heights appear next to each other, the short clear glass bowl home to two pairs of goldfish swimming leisurely among water plants. The scene symbolizes such blessings as a realm at peace, prosperity, tranquility, affluence, joy and harmony.

White Hawk

White Hawk

Yang Dazhang (fl. ca. 1766-1791), Qing dynasty
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper, 188.4 x 93.8 cm

Yang Dazhang was a court painter in the Qianlong reign whose works date from 1766 to 1791. He excelled at depicting figures, landscapes, and bird-and-flower subjects as well as dragons. His paintings of flowers in rich shades of ink have an atmosphere of desolate refinement. He also often painted chrysanthemums in colors, being famous for his rendering of the hues. The Qianlong Emperor’s poems often include inscriptions on bird-and-flower works by Yang.


This painting depicts a white hawk submitted by General Xing Zhao of Suiyuan City as tribute. The perched bird is tethered by a yellow cord to a wood hawk stand decorated with brocade. Nothing is missing from the lines of the brushwork, and the colors are brilliant, bright and skillful.

Seeking Spirit Fungus in a Park

Seeking Spirit Fungus in a Park

Jin Tingbiao (?-1767), Qing dynasty
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper, 188.2 x 87.9 cm

Jin Tingbiao (style name Shikui) was a native of Wucheng, Zhejiang. During the Qianlong Emperor’s southern inspection tour of 1757, Jin presented an “Album of Lohans in Ink Outlines” that met with imperial favor. He was then called to court as an artist, in 1761 being promoted to “Painter of the First Rank.”


The theme here is gathering fungus on a snowy day. Precipitous peaks are defined with forceful, unrestrained “axe-cut” texture strokes. The grasses, lichen, rattan, and pine needles are either dotted with white or left partially unpainted to emphasize where snow has accumulated. The volume of the faces and clothing is clearly distinguished, suggesting that Jin was at least partially influenced by the shading techniques of Western painting.

Mt. Hua Deep in Autumn

Mt. Hua Deep in Autumn

Chang Dai-chien (1899-1983), Republican period
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on paper, 361 x 133.6 cm

Chang Dai-chien (named Yuan, sobriquet Daqian [Dai-chien] jushi), a native of Neijiang in Sichuan, traveled in the Sino-Japanese War to Dunhuang in western China and copied the famous wall paintings there. In his sixties, he also developed a painting style of splashed colors and ink, becoming a world-renowned master.


This work is from 1960, when the artist was 62 by Chinese reckoning. Mt. Hua, in Shaanxi, is a famous peak in China renowned as the “Foremost Scenic Mountain.” The artist used strong and sharp “axe-cut” brush strokes to render the steep cliff walls. With a large brush and ink dots, the accumulated masses represent clouds. Standing out from the sea of clouds at its base, Mt. Hua emerges abruptly before the viewer’s eyes.