LOTUS, BIRD AND FISH

DING YANYONG (CHINA, 1902-1978) LOTUS, BIRD AND FISH Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper 38 ¼ x 24 ¾ in. (97 x 63 cm.) Inscribed and signed, with one seal of the artist Dedicated to Madame Anni (Margaret Anne Chang) Dated bingchen year (1976) PROVENANCE From the collection of Ms. Margaret Anne Chang SPECIALIST’S NOTES Ding Yanyong lived a life of many adventures. No ordinary artist, he was also a provocateur, teacher, and strong advocate for artistic reform. Highly influential in forming a fresh visual language using the age-old medium of ink with great freedom, he had a significant influence on artists of his own time and subsequent generations. Born into an educated family in Guangdong province, the young Ding won a scholarship under the auspices of the provincial government to study painting in Japan at the age of 18. He entered the prestigious Tokyo School of Fine Arts where Fauvist currents ran strongly; there, he painted oils in the style of Henri Matisse, marked by vigorous brushstrokes, lively colors and simple yet expressive lines. In 1925, he returned to China and started to teach, first in Shanghai and in Guangzhou. Soon he became intrigued by classical Chinese paintings, particularly the work of the late Ming, early Qing artists Bada Shanren and Shitao. Ding admired the bold, enigmatic images that the artists produced – as a result, he began to study traditional paintings and gradually developed his childlike, idiosyncratic style.