Introduction
Since moving into its new home in Waishuangxi on the outskirts of Taipei City in 1965, the National Palace Museum has actively worked to expand the scope and depth of its collection. In addition to increasing the budget set aside each year for making new purchases, a set of regulations was established for accepting donations that meet the acquisition needs of the Museum as a way to encourage collectors to contribute artworks. By doing so, private holdings could become part of the public domain to be shared and appreciated by all in society.
Over the years, Gallery 208 has hosted a number of exhibitions related to selected artworks donated and entrusted to the Museum, the purpose being to encourage further awareness and study of these fine works so that people can learn more about their precious cultural heritage. The current display takes as its focus paintings by later artists from the Guangdong area, including Ju Lian (1828-1904), Gao Jianfu (1879-1951), Gao Qifeng (1889-1933), Chen Shuren (1884-1948), Hu Zaobin (1897-1942), Huang Chun-pi (1898-1991), and Yang Shan-shen (1913-2004). The National Palace Museum would like to take this opportunity to extend its gratitude to those who have selflessly given from their collections. At the same time, it hopes that people from various walks of life will continue to support and make the Museum even more a place for all people.
Selections
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Monkey
- Gao Qifeng (1889-1933), Republican period
- Hanging scroll, 98.2x45.7 cm
Gao Qifeng was a native of Panyu (modern Guangzhou) in Guangdong. From an early age he studied painting with his elder brother Gao Jianfu, his style coming under the influence of his brother as well as that of Ju Chao (?-1899) and Ju Lian (1828-1904). During Gao Qifeng’s stay in Japan, he adopted the virtues of Chinese and Western painting to create a personal art style, his depictions of flowers, birds, and land animals best suited to his unique form of expression.
This work portrays a kind of monkey, a macaque, sitting on the trunk of a pine tree. Painted using washes of ink and colors, the pine also features hoary brushwork, the needles especially powerful.
Mr. Lin Tsung-yi donated this work to the National Palace Museum. -
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Scene of Power and Grandeur
- Hu Zaobin (1897-1942), Republican period
- Mounted, 142.4x73.8 cm
Hu Zaobin (style name Xiansheng, sobriquet Jingguan louzhu) once studied Western painting methods at the Kyoto Municipal Art Institute in Japan. After returning to China, he established the Rushi Art School in Guangzhou. He also took part in the cause of the Nationalist government. Hu’s paintings deal mainly with land animals, his renderings of tigers most dynamic and in a style similar to the Sino-Western manner of the Lingnan School.
The lighting in this painting is particularly dramatic. It depicts a tiger on a slope, its fangs showing and appearing as if something has caught its attention, as shown by its glaring eyes looking off to the side. Hu’s inscription dated to the equivalent of 1939 states the work was done when chimonanthus ripen as he became inspired to pick up a brush by his window on a rainy day.
Mr. Hu Shih-kang donated this painting to the National Palace Museum. -
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Album of Sichuan Sketches from Life
- Yang Shan-shen (1913-2004), Republican period
- Album leaf, 35x34.6 / 34.8x34.4 / 33.8x35 cm
Yang Shan-shen, a native of Taishan in Guangdong, early made the acquaintance of Gao Jianfu and came under his influence in terms of art theory and practice. Yang also studied in Japan at the Domoto Arts College in Kyoto, afterwards returning to Hong Kong and taking part in various art-related activities. He would then spend several decades traveling the world using nature as his teacher, achieving mastery with a comprehensive approach to forge a path of his own.
This album features ten leaves in Yang’s distinctive style of broken trembling brushwork to depict some of the sites he saw in Sichuan, his interesting effect quite engaging. On display here are three leaves on the "Great Buddha at Leshan," "Woyun Hut at Golden Peak, Mt. Emei," and "Mujiashan Hall."
The family of the artist donated this album to the National Palace Museum. -
Exhibit List
| Title | Artist | Period | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flowers | Ju Lian (1828-1904) | Qing dynasty | Donated by Chu Ming-yuan |
| Tiger | Gao Jianfu (1879-1951) | Republican period | Donated by Lin Tsung-yi |
| Monkey | Gao Qifeng (1889-1933) | Republican period | Donated by Lin Tsung-yi |
| Red Leaves | Chen Shuren (1884-1948) | Republican period | Bequeathed by Ho Ying-chin |
| Scene of Power and Grandeur | Hu Zaobin (1897-1942) | Republican period | Donated by Hu Shih-kang |
| Landscape: Winter Scenery | Huang Chun-pi (1898-1991) | Republican period | Bequeathed by Huang Chun-pi |
| Album of Sichuan Sketches from Life | Yang Shan-shen (1913-2004) | Republican period | Donated by the family of Yang Shan-shen |