(Reported by reporter Su Shiyu) On the morning of September 1, 2011, the famous meticulous painter Zhang Guizhi was invited to the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy in Houmaojiawan, Xicheng District, Beijing, to display 10 meticulously created meticulous paintings. Submitted to the Art Committee of Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy for review. What Zhang Guizhi didn't expect was that Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy would collect all 10 works worth more than 1.2 million yuan at once.
Zhang Guizhi’s meticulous paintings express the spirit through form and combine both form and spirit. They advocate artistic conception and interest and pursue the expression and embodiment of subjective spirit. Even "making every detail possible", by "measuring the image of an object to obtain its truth", "getting the spirit to obtain the form, establishing the form with lines, and expressing the meaning with the form" to obtain the perfect unity of form and spirit. It has the great shaping ability of "take the beauty of things, take the beauty of things, take the reality of things". He not only "corresponds to the image of the object", but also prefers the realism of the image. On the basis of active observation and realism, he pursues vivid portrayal through artistic re-creation, thereby achieving a vivid artistic effect. Some critics say that whether he depicts characters or flowers and birds, they are all images of poetry, visual music, and spiritual chapters.
Professor Su Qingjie, a well-known calligraphy and painting critic and executive deputy director of the China Laozi Cultural Charity Development Fund Management Committee, pointed out: The creation of an excellent meticulous flower-and-bird painting must go from the outside to the inside, and be moved by the object. Then the process of thinking and brewing starts from the inside out and focuses on things. What is presented is the interest of nature and the spirit of man. It is the spirit that is moved by the wonders of nature. If you climb up and look at things in reverie, you will gain something. You will unknowingly incorporate nature into yourself, and you will melt into the scenery. What you create is The state of no-self. Zhang Guizhi's meticulous flower paintings present the endless life of the vast world to the viewer to the greatest extent possible. It is the expression of the painter's emotions and the materialization of his spirit. In the mountains, rivers, flowers and birds, there is endless interest and emotion. The rhythm of each stroke and color is the painter's full interest and ideal pursuit. It is not only the rhythm of nature's life, but also the rippling poetry. From Zhang Guizhi's meticulous flower and bird paintings, we can feel the ideal desire and love for life at any time. "The color of the sound, the attitude of drinking and pecking, nesting in the wild when far away, sleeping in the sand and swimming in the pool, playing in the wide and floating deep, walking through the houses and buildings when close, like the morning of the year, the one who crows in the late spring..." All of these - , can all be superbly expressed in Zhang Guizhi's meticulous paintings, bringing people into beautiful reverie. The valuable thing about Zhang Guizhi's flower-and-bird paintings is that he skillfully integrates his own aesthetic taste with natural images. They are like "natural things" that do not appear to be artificially carved, making people feel that the objects presented on the paintings are not artificial. The true appearance of cannibalistic fireworks. It is like a "pure" natural scene of "the essence of the five elements, pure between the heaven and the earth. The yin and yang are spread out and prosperous when they are sucked in, and the flowers and trees are beautiful and luxuriant, which can be seen in hundreds of flowers and trees." The "selfless state" of "color". It even makes people mistakenly think that these exquisite flowers and birds are the reproduction and pursuit of natural forms. In fact, this is the wonderful scene where Zhang Guizhi's meticulous flower-and-bird painting quietly combines human subjective spirit with the objective form of nature. It is the fusion of the artist's inner thinking and the external world. It is a way of expressing his emotions in nature. It is a way of observing the natural life (gaining into the secrets of nature). , the combination of condensing the meaning of nature) and the painter's spirit (subjective taste). It is this wonderful and organic combination that creates the fragrant painting realm. This is the charm of Zhang Guizhi's meticulous flower and bird paintings.
Because of this, many collectors at home and abroad are optimistic about Zhang Guizhi's meticulous paintings. The price of his works has also soared from 6,000 yuan per square foot to more than 18,000 yuan per square foot. The 10 works collected by the China Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy this time range from 4 feet square to 8 square feet, and each one is of high quality. According to experts from Poly Auction House: Although the collection price of these 10 works by Zhang Guizhi is only 1.2 million yuan, once they are put up for auction, the starting price will not be less than 2 million yuan, and it is expected to exceed 3 million yuan in the end. On July 21, 2013, Professor Zhang Guizhi, a famous master of Chinese meticulous painting, donated his newly created giant "Laozi Leaving the Border" worth 1 million yuan free of charge to the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy. You Zhong, the president of the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy Hui was pleased to write an inscription and postscript for Zhang Guizhi's "Laozi Leaving Seclusion". Experts organized by the Art Committee of the Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy pointed out after careful review: If Fan Zeng's "Laozi Leaving Seclusion" is a representative of the freehand brushwork of Laozi's "Laozi" coming out of seclusion, then Zhang Guizhi's "Laozi?" "Guan Tu" can be called the masterpiece of Gongbi Laozi's "Guan Tu".
It is not uncommon for art works with the theme of Laozi’s coming out of seclusion. Almost all figure painters have tried to create such themes. However, perhaps because of the far-reaching influence of Fan Zeng’s coming out of seclusion, few have The painter can surpass Fan Zeng's Laozi. Su Qingjie, executive deputy director of the Management Committee of the China Laozi Cultural Development Charity Fund and a famous calligraphy and painting critic, approached Zhang Guizhi and hoped that Zhang Guizhi would use fine brushwork to create a new "Laozi Leaving the Border" for the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy. Zhang Guizhi happily accepted. But he knew: this was not a simple creation. China Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy is a high-end calligraphy and painting academy with top calligraphers and painters as its mainstay. The painters who join the Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy are all calligraphers and painters who are above the vice-chairman level of the provincial calligraphy and painting associations and artists' associations and have achieved real achievements. There are no less than a dozen well-known painters who have created pictures of Laozi leaving the country for the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy, but none of them can satisfy the Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy. To this day, there is not a single painting related to Laozi in the large exhibition halls and offices of the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy. As for art works, Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy invited Zhang Guizhi to create the meticulous painting "Laozi Leaving the Border".
This is undoubtedly a hope that Zhang Guizhi will make a new breakthrough in similar themes.
After Zhang Guizhi took over this "special task", he couldn't sleep at night. He had to give up orders from galleries in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places, and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the creation of Lao Zi Chuan. But what I want to create about Lao Tzu's coming out of seclusion
How can it be different from many stereotyped and political figures of Lao Tzu's coming out of seclusion? How can I use the ancient sage Lao Tzu as the subject matter and the brush and ink of traditional literati paintings as the means of expression? It breaks the ideological tendency that has shrouded Chinese painting for many years and provides a new opportunity for the aesthetic transformation of Chinese meticulous figure painting. This is the key to Zhang Guizhi's creative concepts and practices of using lines to form shapes and emphasizing the expression of bone techniques with brushes and ink. How to break the absolute shadow of meticulous realism on the creation of modern Chinese figure paintings and advance modern fine brushwork figure paintings from realism to freehand brushwork. In this way, after more than a month of repeated deliberation, a brand-new meticulous painting "Image of Laozi Leaving Seclusion" came out under the pen of Zhang Guizhi. The history and legend of Lao Tzu's coming out of isolation are both real and imaginary, and are truly reproduced on six feet of raw silk: a white-haired old man dressed in plain robes and a bamboo hat, with eyebrows drooping and a beard touching his knees, was sitting leisurely on the back of an ox. The child pedaling on the morning glory next to him was in high spirits and walking vigorously in the cool breeze of the setting sun. On the bamboo pole behind the shoulder, the red cloth tassels of the wine gourd fluttered. The psychic green bull walked slowly and rhythmically. It seemed to come slowly from a distance, and then seemed to float away again. Xiaoxiao has a long beard and gray silver hair, which vividly depicts Lao Tzu's demeanor when he came out of seclusion. If you carefully taste each stroke, you can see that his painting style is simple, full of ancient charm, and he has a variety of aesthetic tastes such as straightforwardness, indulgence and agility. The old man and the young man outlined in the transcendental pen and ink give people an indescribable tranquility. Especially paired with a few dead trees whose leaves have receded as if they had grown eyes, are they showing the changes of the seasons or the Zhou Dynasty? Decline? Or is it an endless observation of today's society? It can be said that no matter how you read it, you can't help but say it is a stroke of genius. The lines in the work are sharp and straight, and the ink and color used in the work are bold and accurate, which maximize the expression of the philosopher Lao Tzu's unique style of caring about the country and the people and keeping a low profile. It is not difficult to see Zhang Guizhi’s masterful style from this work. This is precisely the difference and excellence between Zhang Guizhi and many "Laozi Leaving the Border". Facing Zhang Guizhi's "Picture of Laozi's Leaving Escapism", the reporter couldn't help but think of Su Dongpo's poem praising the painting saint Wu Daozi: "When the wind and rain hit him quickly, the breath was swallowed before the pen could reach it"!
Industry comments Experts call it: Zhang Guizhi's "The Picture of Laozi Leaving Seclusion". The character line drawing skills are pure and rigorous, the brush strokes are vigorous, the form and spirit are clear and lifelike, and it is a rare masterpiece of line drawing. It is precisely because of this kind of skill that his meticulous "Laozi Leaving the Seclusion Picture" can "create new ideas in the laws and express the wonderful principles in the bold and unrestrained". When he expresses it, he is no longer fettered by the form and can enjoy the use of ink and wash. , the ink is dripping and the smoke is rising, and it is so delicate that all the hair is visible. This painting "Laozi Leaving Seclusion" is famous for its use of lines, with strict modeling and relaxed writing style. It seems to be sketched carelessly but it is still to the point. When it is complicated, it is complicated, and when it is reduced, it is reduced. "Five thousand words of morality, riding an ox out of Hanguan", Laozi's immortal style, the child's innocence and childishness, and the green ox's slowness, all reveal leisure and tranquility, leading people to endless daydreams. "Purple gas comes thirty thousand miles from the east, and the sage passes here on his westward journey. The green ox slowly carries the old man, hiding his form and hiding his vitality." This is the legendary description of Zhang Guizhi's meticulous "Laozi's Leaving the Border".
Perhaps, only if you read Zhang Guizhi's meticulous painting "Pictures of Laozi Leaving Seclusion" can you truly understand the true meaning of Laozi's philosophical thoughts of "Tao follows nature", "Unity of man and nature", and "Governing by inaction".
According to the reporter’s understanding: Zhang Guizhi’s meticulous works have been very popular since they entered the market in 2000, with prices rising from 6,000 yuan per square foot. According to the evaluation of experts from Guardian Auction House, Zhang Guizhi's meticulous paintings cost about 80,000 yuan per square foot, and "Laozi? Guan Tu" is a masterpiece of Zhang Guizhi's paintings. Its value will not be less than 100,000 yuan per square foot, and it is There is great room for appreciation. Far-sighted collectors in China are all optimistic about Zhang Guizhi's meticulous paintings, which are the "original stocks" that are unshakable in the minds of collectors. Not to mention now, a few years ago it was hard to find a painting. Nowadays, a huge "Picture of Laozi Leaving Seclusion" has come out, and collectors are coming to visit one after another. Some collectors are willing to pay 1.5 million yuan to collect Zhang Guizhi's meticulous "Picture of Laozi Leaving Seclusion", but Zhang Guizhi politely declined. In the end, he insisted on donating "Pictures of Laozi's Coming Out" to the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy free of charge.
You Zhonghui, president of the China Laozi Calligraphy and Painting Academy, said: Zhang Guizhi's meticulous "Laozi Leaving Seclusion" is the most classic work among the "Laozi Leaving Seclusion" seen at home and abroad. If Fan Zeng’s Laozi leaving the seclusion is a representative of the freehand Laozi coming out of seclusion, then Zhang Guizhi’s Laozi coming out of seclusion is a model of the meticulous painting of Laozi coming out of seclusion. The Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy will regard Zhang Guizhi's "Picture of Laozi Leaving Seclusion" as a treasure of the academy. It will be framed and hung in the most eye-catching position of the Laozi Painting and Calligraphy Academy.
When reading Zhang Guizhi’s traditional Chinese landscape paintings, one often feels that the atmosphere is desolate, the smoke and clouds are clear, and the sharp edges are all visible. That kind of pure and graceful elegance, that kind of otherworldly aesthetic taste, especially the rare artistic realm where there is painting outside the painting, sound outside the sound, and rhyme outside the rhyme, all make people feel immersed in it. Among the Sanskrit sounds, it gives people a rare indifference, a rare tranquility, and a rare freshness. It can be said that his traditional Chinese landscape paintings, whether viewed from near or far, are full of the magic of pen and ink and the agility of meaning. They all exude the rare elegance, rare delicacy, rare uniqueness and rare elegance of traditional Chinese landscape paintings. Beauty. That is the true meaning of "wind, elegance and praise" in Chinese landscape painting.
Some critics say that the reason why Zhang Guizhi’s traditional Chinese landscape paintings are so wonderful and beautiful is that Zhang Guizhi uses northern lines and southern ink rhymes to depict the mountains in his heart. The water in my heart. Because of this, the Chinese painting landscapes he painted have both the majestic vastness, majesty and grandeur of the mountains in the North, and the emptiness, fantasy, elegance and elegance of the landscapes in the South. As the saying goes, "the elegant and vast water and sky are of the same color, and the fishing boats sing in the evening to entertain themselves." The beauty lies in the true northern potential and southern charm of Zhang Guizhi's traditional Chinese painting landscapes.
But in Zhang Guizhi's view, the reason why traditional Chinese painting is divided into northern and southern schools is mostly related to the radius of the painter's life. Although scholars of all generations have advocated "reading thousands of books and traveling thousands of miles", but In the past when transportation was extremely underdeveloped, it was almost impossible for a painter to "travel thousands of miles." Because of the artist's special geographical limitations, if the mountains and waters depicted by the artist are not distinguished from north to south, they will undoubtedly be lost in direction. In today's highly developed society, "traveling 80,000 miles a day, surveying the sky and looking at a thousand rivers" is no longer news. If we continue to stick to the southern and northern schools, it will be a regression of Chinese painting.
On the surface, Zhang Guizhi has a special liking for northern landscapes. Most of the landscapes in his traditional Chinese paintings are scenes of mountains, meanderings, and forests. However, Zhang Guizhi, while recognizing and insisting on the value of Northern School landscape painting, also made him very obsessed with the realistic attitude of "Ink and Wash First" of Southern School traditional Chinese painting, which is reflected in the paintings, such as mist, mountains and dense forests, and far-reaching interests. Deep. In particular, Zhang Guizhi's recent works have reached a rare height in their fusion of "Northern style and Southern style". During this period, the integration of ancient and modern times, innovation and change, and exploration and development are particularly eye-catching. His traditional Chinese landscape paintings have deep layers, unified density, rigorous brushstrokes, and a sense of verticality, horizontality, and steepness. Among them, the unique "Zhang's painting method" is an interpretation and interpretation of the texture and expressive power of traditional brush and ink. This kind of interpretation and interpretation of pen and ink, through his personalized painting language, is effectively used to create thousands of rocks and ravines and express the majestic weather. It can be said that Zhang Guiji uses the green brushwork of "hills and valleys to establish bones" and is "full of rain and dew" in the "dry autumn wind", and uses the golden rhyme of "brushwork to establish bones" to fully display "Zhang's landscape" in the dense ink. ” uniqueness. In his traditional Chinese painting landscapes, he not only maximizes the magnificence and wonder of the Shuibei style of landscapes with "hills and valleys erecting bones", but also maximizes the beauty and charm of the Shuinan style of landscapes with "brushwork erecting bones".
As a critic in the industry concluded: Zhang Guizhi's traditional Chinese landscape painting "has both the solid bones of the northern style of landscape and the subtlety of the ink techniques of the southern style of landscape. Whether it is Zhang Guizhi's meticulous landscape painting or half-worked painting, they all reveal rare antiquity, rare vigor, and rare agility. It is not difficult to see Fan Kuan's majesty, Wang Meng's denseness, and mountain woodcutter. The beauty of the painting, Mi's smoke and clouds, Shi Tao's freshness, Gong Xian's thickness... However, all of these are insignificantly included in Zhang Guizhi's generous work.
< p> On the wall facing the author's spacious office, Zhang Guizhi's two-foot-long Chinese painting "Autumn Mountain Smoke and Clouds" is hung. The main body of the picture is surrounded by mountains and mountains, and the valley is filled with mist and mist. There are looming in the clouds and mist, as if covered with a light veil, giving people a dreamy and ethereal feeling. Miscellaneous trees with unknown names, either red or yellow, straight or curved, bent or raised, are clustered in clusters. In the gaps between the rocks, a waterfall flows down the mountainside in the distance, forming a deep pool at the foot of the mountain. Several red houses are vaguely visible, and they seem to be inhabited in the close view. The branches and leaves of the miscellaneous trees are outlined with expressive and changeable brushstrokes. The trees on the left and right are also painted with ocher to adjust and activate the atmosphere of the painting and enrich the colors of the painting. Zhang Guizhi depicts mountains, rocks, and trees with elegant and vigorous brushwork, using ink, ocher, and blue tones of different shades, and using light and crimson colors to combine the landscape, the clear weather, and the clouds and mists in the mountains. The organic integration of imagery expresses the seasonal feeling of "Autumn Mountains are clear and clear" in a quiet, elegant and appropriate way, which is fascinating to watch. From the momentum of the composition and the sharpness of the brushwork, it gives people a solemn, solemn and refreshing beauty. In particular, the meandering stream is clear and fresh, neither irritating nor angry, clear and shallow, and has no trace of desolation or desolation. This kind of charm of late autumn scenery is difficult for ordinary painters to detect and express. What is valuable is that Zhang Guizhi did not mechanically divide the ground, trees, clouds, water, and mountains into three layers and two sections. Instead, he used the miscellaneous trees on the left and right sides of the picture as close-ups to organically connect the clouds, water, mountains, and trees together. . In the processing of visual space, he skillfully combines the "flat distance" of the close shot with the "high distance" of the distant mountains. He is especially skilled in the processing of clouds, mist and mist, and expresses the clouds in the mountains with light color. It is vivid and vivid, and the mountainsides and tree tops are rendered with pen and ink, and the white clouds and water are squeezed out, creating the artistic effect of "connecting the atmosphere with the mist: the scorching sun and the clouds", making people feel like "the white clouds look back and the green mist comes in." The poetic imagination of "nothing" and "there is a home deep in the white clouds". This also confirms the famous calligraphy and painting critic Guo Ruoxu of the Song Dynasty: good landscape paintings "have things that are feasible, promising, travelable and habitable." All the paintings up to this point are of excellent quality. "Zhang Guizhi's "Autumn Mountain Smoke and Clouds" precisely creates this kind of "travelable and livable" atmosphere, which makes the viewer want to visit the hermitage in autumn.Perhaps it should be The old saying "painting is the voice of the heart", whether you realize it or not, is not only a kind of cultural accumulation, but also a kind of personality and life cultivation. Zhang Guizhi has always been humble and polite. He is surprisingly low-key. He has both the peace and moderation of Confucianism and the implicit tranquility of Taoism. The Chinese landscape paintings he paints are a reflection of his personality. From time to time, he borrows the "Southern Rhythm" of his pen and ink, "Southern Rhythm". The elegance and "Noah's Ark" of "Southern Rhythm" seek for the ideal other side of his "Northern Trend" landscape, and create his "Northern Trend" with the implication of his "Southern Rhyme" and the implication of "Southern Rhyme". The roughness, the brightness of "Northern Style" and the heavyness of "Northern Style" fully demonstrate the characteristics of traditional Chinese painting landscapes such as the spirit and soul of Northern style landscapes. It is no wonder that some critics say that Zhang Guizhi's traditional Chinese painting landscapes "have the harmony of Confucianism". , and obtained the natural purpose of Taoism, and the enlightenment of Zen Buddhism," thus forming the "Zhang style of painting" that is vast, lush, smart, real, and highly modern. It undoubtedly combines leisure and elegance, gentleness The rare quietness, elegance and calmness of art that is integrated with Xiao San's humanistic realm and painting art are also a true reflection of Zhang Guizhi's clear and indifferent life style.
Looking at Zhang Guizhi's traditional Chinese painting landscapes. , whether it is his "Autumn Mountains with Smoke and Clouds", "Spring is Full of Spirits", whether it is his "Flowing Water", "Streams and Mountains in Peace", or "Rivers and Mountains as Picturesque", "Rivers and Mountains So Many", from which It is not difficult to see that Zhang Guizhi's eclectic approach to "Northern style and Southern style" also demonstrates his unique pen and ink style.
After all, Jing is a man living in the north, and there will always be the majestic soul of the "Northern style" landscape in him, with its ups and downs and miraculous craftsmanship. However, he by no means blindly emphasizes the majesty of the "Northern style", but also emphasizes the "Southern charm" It strives to reveal the gentle and gentle charm of the "southern style" landscape in the majestic majesty of the mountains and ridges. The realm of "rich mountains and rivers, lush vegetation" that he strives for is finally reflected in the combination of pen and ink, ink and water, which achieves the wonderful effect of rich ink energy and full of charm. Just as netizen Qingfeng Piaoxiang praised: "Autumn peaks are so bleak that they leap into the clouds, mountain roads take hundreds of turns, mist locks thousands of rivers and blocks jade pillars, clouds float in thousands of gorges and hang white sails; cliffs know the wind and moon, and green pines and red maples roar for nine days. Why fear? The journey ahead is long, and the vicissitudes of life have gone through and our ambitions have become stronger.”
Although Zhang Guizhi is a master of traditional Chinese painting who excels in flowers, birds, figures, and landscapes, it is not difficult to find out if you look closely at Zhang Guiji's traditional Chinese painting landscapes. Although the landscapes in his paintings are full of mountains, clouds, and springs, they have always been " "Thousands of mountains are covered with birds flying away, and thousands of people are gone", but it always makes you feel that there is a scene in the painting of "empty mountains with no people, but you can hear people's voices". The uninhabited mountains and rivers always make you feel the high-spirited, peaceful and far-reaching humanistic spirit, as well as the strong flavor of the times. On the basis of a macroscopic grasp of traditional brush and ink and a comprehensive understanding of the true meaning of traditional Chinese painting, he has accumulated the beauty of nature and absorbed the aura of mountains and rivers. He has developed his own unique new painting language with his unique "Zhang's brush and ink" , focusing on the creation of charm and realm, giving people a kind of fresh beauty, lush beauty, and leisurely beauty. It also unintentionally dissolved things that were useful to him in Western painting, such as the composition of light and shadow, the changes in color and color, etc. Therefore, his "Northern Trend and Southern Rhythm" is not an "elegant" work of "empty forest after the rain" and "ignoring the color of fireworks in the world", nor is it a "desolate" work of "snowy scene in the cold forest" and "borderless fallen trees rustling under the trees". The image is the beautiful landscape of "thousands of rocks competing for beauty, and thousands of valleys contending for streams. The vegetation is shrouded above it, and the clouds are blooming and the clouds are blooming." It is a majestic, broad, sincere and magnificent mountain and river. Although the scene in the painting is not a reproduction of a mountain or a copy of a river, it has the majesty of Taihang, the steepness of Huashan, the variety of Huangshan, the beauty of Emei, and the charm of Wuyi. The old and green clouds and mountain streams, the beautiful and deep trees and singing springs, the dark pastoral scenery, and the charming and elegant mountain scenes all convey Zhang Guizhi’s love for the great rivers and mountains of the motherland, and Zhang Guizhi’s love for the great nature. Beautiful praise.
This is also where the success of Zhang Guizhi’s traditional Chinese landscape paintings lies.
(Author Su Qingjie: senior scholar, famous calligraphy and painting critic, visiting professor of Beijing Normal University)