現代　張大千　垂絲海棠圖　軸|Crabapple Blossoms

Zhang Daqian

dated 1965 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

Zhang Daqian painted this pendant bough of blossoms in New York in the fall of 1965 and dedicated it to Lin Yutang's son-in-law, Li Ming (Richard Lai). The clusters of tiny pink flowers on delicate filaments and ovoid leaves identify the tree as a chuisi haitang (literally "crabapple with drooping filaments"), or a Hall crabapple, a species indigenous to China. It was a favorite of Zhang Daqian's. In rendering the branches and leaves, Zhang Daqian adapted a technique initiated by the seventeenth-century master, Shitao (1642–1707). He first drew the bough in dark ink. After it was completely dry, he applied a second layer of lighter ink to its upper part to make it volumetric. Finally, he added daubs of blue-green to suggest leaf buds or lichen. Leaves were rendered in the same manner. There is no bleeding between dark and light ink or between ink and color. The result is a vibrant, shimmering effect that makes the bough appear to quiver in the wind.

Artist

Zhang Daqian

Date

dated 1965

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Lin Yutang Family Collection, Gift of Richard M. Lai, Jill Lai Miller, and Larry C. Lai, in memory of Taiyi Lin Lai, 2005