Wu HuFan 吴湖帆 (1894-1968), painted in the Spring of DingHai year, 1947. A presented painting as gifts to General Chen CangQuan. Chinese ink and color painting on paper laid to silk. Hand painted with delicate ink tones and textured rendering of misty mountain transformed the monumental landscape imagery of the nature. Pavilion house shown form part of forest scenery, bordered by trees, shaded and half concealed by a grove. Appearing a subtle expression; immeasurable distances were conveyed through the use of blurred outlines, mountain contours disappearing into the mist, and impressionistic treatment of natural phenomena. Emphasis was placed on the spiritual qualities of the painting and on the ability of the artist to reveal the inner harmony of man and nature, as perceived according to Taoist and Buddhist concepts. Encircled by this energized mountainscape, the retreat becomes a reservoir of calm at the vortex of a world whose dynamic configurations embody nature's creative potential. Themed calligraphy inscription on upper left, signed and dated by artist, Wu HuFan 吴湖帆 , followed by two artist's iron-red signature seals, with additional seal on lower left.
Set behind glass and wooden framed.

The portion of the sale will benefit a local church in Atlanta area.

Dimension: 70-1/4" H x 53" W

PROVENANCE:

From the collection of General Chen Qi 陳淇; (1912-2000), who styled himself as “Cangquan” (滄泉and “Yuquanshanren”玉泉山人), an artist, calligrapher, a prominent businessman and private antiques collector.
EDEN Fine Antiques Galleries is honored and proud to offer, once again, to be the last General Chen Qi's heirloom collections including unpublished painting from Zhang DaQian, Fu BaoShi, Qi BaiShi, Huang JunBi, Wu ChangShuo, Xu BeiHong, Dong ShouPing, Dong BangDa 董邦达, Li XiongCai, and many other famous artists; along with his extraordinary Chinese porcelain collections.
General Chen Qi's collections can be found on Lot-128 through Lot-161 (Day 1), continuing at Lot-402 through Lot-423 (Day 2).
For more information about General Chen Qi's Biography, please refer to this link:

http://chen-qi.net/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Qi_(collector)


Chen Qi (陳淇;), who styled himself as “Cangquan” (滄泉and “Yuquanshanren”玉泉山人), is a modern collector.
Chen Qi was born in Fujian on March 8, 1912 in a merchant family. He was well educated in traditional culture since childhood. Chen Qi began to learn literacy from his grandfather since 1916, and had studied enlightenment readings such as Three Character Classic, Thousand Poems, Book of Filial Piety, and Confucian classics, etc.. He also studied Tang Kai (one of the Chinese traditional calligraphy scripts originated from Tang Dynasty) as daily calligraphy class.
In 1927, Chen Qi was enrolled in a Christian school.
In 1928, Chen Qi dropped out of school due to illness. While recuperating at home, he read books and newspapers, and gained a deeper understanding from his communications with businessmen from the South of the devastated and weakened old Chinese society. Just like other youths full with aspirations in the turbulent time, Chen Qi determined to transform China and save Chinese people from the crisis.
In 1932, Chen Qi went to Japan and was enrolled in the famous Imperial Japanese Army Academy, a military school founded in 1868. Imperial Japanese Army Academy was committed to Militaristic Spiritual Education and had successfully trained a large number of senior generals participated in the war of aggression again China later on. Many famous modern Chinese generals also graduated from Imperial Japanese Army Academy, such as Cai E, Ying Heqin, Li Rujiong, Tang Enbo, etc.
While Chen Qi was in Japan, he not only met his wife, Qiuben Jiumeizi, who accompanied him by a lifetime (moved to China with Chen Qi later on and changed her name to Lin Yachun), in May 1935, he also got to know Chinese painter, Fu Baoshi, who was holding a Exhibition at the time. It was the first exhibition Fu Baoshi held in Japan. Both staying in foreign country, the two became friends right away. In June of the same year, Fu Baoshi went back to China due to his mother's serious illness (his mother already passed away after his return). Two months later, Chen Qi returned to China as well and was invited by Fu Baoshi to visit Nan Chang, where Fu held his first personal exhibition in China.
In 1935, Chen Qi was appointed by National Revolutionary Army to teach in Republic of China Military Academy, also known as Huangpu Military Academy. He became Deputy Director of Training and was granted the rank of Major General. During his tenure, he had made great contribution through training of military personnel. Just like what the founder of modern China, Sun Zhongshan, had said, we found this school to lead the students to become the foundation of revolutionary army. You will be the future elites of revolutionary army. And this is the way that lead to our success in revolution.
During his term as director, Chen Qi developed extensive social contacts not only in politics, but also in business, literary and art circles. He also concentrated in calligraphy, reading and painting.
In January 1936 (the 25th year of the Republic Era), Chen Qi went to Tianjin (original destination was Beijing but stayed in Tianjin for a few days) to attend an exhibition in Tianjin Yong'An Restaurant, held by a group of painters including Zhang Daqian, Zhang Shanzi, Xiao Qianzhong, Hu Peiheng, Xu Yansun, Yu FeiAn, He Haixia, etc.. During the trip, besides political and business affairs, Chen Qi had made contacts with celebrities in literary and art circles, including Mei Lanfang and Qi Baishi.
Although working in military during the turbulent time, Chen Qi was still deeply affected by Confucianism and traditional cultural education he received since childhood. He continued studying in painting and focused on collection of various arts and antiques from various Chinese Dynasties.
In 1955, after arriving at Taiwan, Chen Qi was appointed as military official of the embassy in Indonesia. He attended multiple international affairs and meetings on behalf of Nationalist Government (Guomin Government), and often travelled between Taiwan and Indonesia due to business and political reasons. In Taiwan, he had close personal relationships with Pu Xinyu, Zhang Daqian, Huang Junbi, Xu Fuguan, Hu Shi, and Yu Youren, etc.. He was also a frequent guest of Jiang Jieshi and Song Meiling.

During his work in Indonesia, Chen Qi got to know Chinese painters such as Wu Zishen and Yan Wanyu, and built close personal relationship with them. They often send each other letters and poems to maintain contacts.
In 1965, Chen Qi left his job in Indonesia, and travelled frequently to mainland China during the 80s. He was generous and made multiple contributions to nonprofit programs and organizations in his homeland, including building schools, water conservation, and newspaper industry. Meanwhile, he continued studying calligraphy, especially during his old age, and enjoyed simple life.


LOT NOTES:


Wu HuFan 吴湖帆 (Chinese, 1894-1968) was a leading traditional painter, known as a collector and connoisseur, as well as for his landscape works. Born in Suzhou in the Jiangsu province, Wu was the grandson of calligrapher and painter Wu Dacheng, and, from a young age, was able to study the works of masters such as the "Four Wangs" of the Qing dynasty. He later studied the painting of Dong Qichang and other artists from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Northern and Southern Song, and Yuan and Ming dynasties.
Wu spent the early part of his life in the Shanghai region, and, following the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, taught at the Shanghai Institute of Chinese Painting. He went on to become one of the city's most important connoisseurs, writing extensively about the works in his collection.
Wu was known for his elegant brushwork, as well as his delicate ink tones and textured rendering of mountains and trees. His work was firmly rooted in tradition, characterized by clearly defined foregrounds, middle grounds, and distances, and made more modern by his use of color. In particular, Wu's work is noted for its lack of any reference to the dramatically shifting political landscape of 1950s and 1960s China. Although Wu focused primarily on landscape paintings, he was also interested in drawing, and executed a number of flower and bamboo works.

Over all in EXCELLENT Condition. Natural imperfection on the medium (paper or silk), regardless from any major damages; includes light blooms, discoloration and minor fading. Consider normal due to the ages.


The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. EDEN Galleries shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.