Fu Baoshi, Artist and Scholar

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The Chinese pictorial art has a unique feature: throughout 2000 years, it has evolved without ever being outfashioned, so that modern artists have yet found their inspiration in the most ancient of their predecessors.

Fu Baoshi was a connoisseur of ancient Chinese painting and poetry. The vertical format of his landscapes, derived from the scroll, first disturbs and then amazes the Western observer accustomed to be presented with large horizontal perspectives.

He is also traditional in his subjects. The calm and beauty of the hills excite him. He looks for such a spirit in the ancient poems that he calligraphies in his artworks, in accordance with tradition.

But Fu Baoshi developed also an innovative technique, which fits perfectly in the history of international modern art. The general atmosphere is created by subtle ink washes gently mixed, supplemented by a myriad of details. This mixing of realism and impressionism is very successful.

Christie's sale in Hong Kong on November 29 offers a large format ink painting, 208 x 60 cm, showing a landscape of mountains, inspired by a Tang dynasty poem by Dufu. It was made in 1944, at a time when Fu reached his highest artistic maturity. It is one of his masterpieces, and the auction house prefers not publishing an estimate.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

This work was really important, and I did well in discussing it despite the absence of published estimate. It was sold HK $ 60M (U.S. $ 7.8 million) including premium.