fortunate enough to drop by
Sichuan Museum at Chengdu to
witness some masterpiece artworks by
Mr Zhang Da Qian a.k.a. Chang Dai-Chien
these were part of his work
during early 40’s
spending 2 years 7 months at
Mogao Caves, Dunhuang(敦煌莫高窟)
I hate to use the word “copy” the mural
is there a better / more technical term
in Chinese, it sounds way better, lin mo(臨摹)
these paintings were kept at his hometown
ever since he never return to mainland
it meant he parted with these paintings for
the rest of his life since 1940’s and
were donated to the nation as
told by him to his family
after his decease
his activities in Mogao Caves
sparked some controversies as
he was accused of peeling the
top layer away to reveal the one underneath
therefore causing some damage
to the original mural
one of the world’s top selling artists
his name is placed alongside with
Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso
he is way beyond a legend
spending almost 40 years abroad
including in a small city in
Mogi das Cruzes, Brazil
where he bought a persimmon farm and
rebuilt it into a Chinese garden
it’s hard to imagine
throughout these years
from one countries to another
he was still painting
Chinese artworks all his life
How??
Known for his landscape painting and his
unique ink-splashing technique
his paintings are a combination of
new techniques on traditional themes
across different genres of Chinese paintings
Lotus and Mandarin Ducks(1947)
was auctioned for 191m HKD(26.4 m USD)
by Sotheby’s HK on 2011
Aachensee Lake(1968)
was auctioned for 100.8 m RMB (14.76 m USD) at
China Guardian's Spring Auction on 2010
Lady with Flowers (1968)
was auctioned for 74m RMB at
Beijing Polypm on 2010
some minimalist’s
animals and minority group
over 100 self-portraits
assuming different roles
even as Zhong Kui(鍾馗)
a ghost-catching role
monkeys
he kept a monkey as pet
until he passed away at Taipei
at the age of 84
that marked the opening of
my journey in exploring Chinese paintings
where more interesting artists and stories
were gradually unfolded