PRINTPROVENANCE:
Collection of former Director of the Shiy De-jinn Foundation (acquired directly from the artist)
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A Delightful Contrast of Sea and Mountain
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1979 Ink and color on paper 69 x 136.5 cm Signed upper left Shiy De-Jinn in Chinese |
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Estimate
460,000 - 700,000 1,862,000 - 2,834,000 59,300 - 90,300
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PROVENANCE:
Collection of former Director of the Shiy De-jinn Foundation (acquired directly from the artist)
Catalogue Note:
In 1979, on a visit to the northern, mountain town of Jiufen, Shiy painted "A Delightful Contrast of Sea and Mountain", a series of ink wash paintings. On one of the paintings, he inscribed: "Traveling to Jioufen to capture this landscape finally made me realize that Taiwanese scenery cannot be depicted using traditional techniques. Shiy De-jiin of Sichuan, a guest in Taiwan for thirty-two years. " He abandoned the distinctive texture strokes of traditional Chinese painting and chose ink as his primary medium. Damp brushwork and a keen sense of color, the white space in his paintings becomes a shade of color, light, and emptiness to rebalance the harmonious relationship between ink and color.
In the "A Delightful Contrast of Sea and Mountain" series, the verdant peaks are depicted in contrasting tones, with different shades of ink blue being used to great effect to bring across the majestic, awe-inspiring appearance of the mountain peaks; the richly layered effect created in this way is deeply impressive. Slight changes in the texture of the ink produce a pronounced threedimensional contrast between the foreground and the far distance; careful brushwork traces out the form of the hills and the structure of the rocks, and a faint wash effect ensures that sea and sky seem to blend into one. The depiction of a handful of boats on the water prevents the scene from appearing too empty, reflecting the artist's skill and attention to detail.
Like Lin Fengmian, under whom he studied in his youth, Shiy Dejinn refused to allow himself to be constrained by tradition, and became a bold innovator. Abandoning the conventional texturing methods of traditional Chinese painting, Shiy chose to make use of techniques from ink brush painting, creating rich, warm color tones and making effective use of empty space, so that white space itself became a kind of color, a kind of light, and a kind of spatial element. Shiy succeeded in building a new, harmonious relationship between ink and color. While making changes to traditional techniques, Shiy continued to respect the strengths of Chinese ink brush painting, and sought to develop his own personal style within the framework of the tradition. Shiy's work makes extensive use of wash effects to create images of serried rows of hills that embody the essence of ink brush painting, producing complex landscapes in which the superb coloration of the mist and clouds creates outstanding aesthetic beauty. By casting a modern eye over landscape painting, Shiy succeeds in creating new forms and a new sense of will. His verdant, textured landscapes, covered in multi-fold layers of mist, represent a peak of artistic achievement.
In the "A Delightful Contrast of Sea and Mountain" series, the verdant peaks are depicted in contrasting tones, with different shades of ink blue being used to great effect to bring across the majestic, awe-inspiring appearance of the mountain peaks; the richly layered effect created in this way is deeply impressive. Slight changes in the texture of the ink produce a pronounced threedimensional contrast between the foreground and the far distance; careful brushwork traces out the form of the hills and the structure of the rocks, and a faint wash effect ensures that sea and sky seem to blend into one. The depiction of a handful of boats on the water prevents the scene from appearing too empty, reflecting the artist's skill and attention to detail.
Like Lin Fengmian, under whom he studied in his youth, Shiy Dejinn refused to allow himself to be constrained by tradition, and became a bold innovator. Abandoning the conventional texturing methods of traditional Chinese painting, Shiy chose to make use of techniques from ink brush painting, creating rich, warm color tones and making effective use of empty space, so that white space itself became a kind of color, a kind of light, and a kind of spatial element. Shiy succeeded in building a new, harmonious relationship between ink and color. While making changes to traditional techniques, Shiy continued to respect the strengths of Chinese ink brush painting, and sought to develop his own personal style within the framework of the tradition. Shiy's work makes extensive use of wash effects to create images of serried rows of hills that embody the essence of ink brush painting, producing complex landscapes in which the superb coloration of the mist and clouds creates outstanding aesthetic beauty. By casting a modern eye over landscape painting, Shiy succeeds in creating new forms and a new sense of will. His verdant, textured landscapes, covered in multi-fold layers of mist, represent a peak of artistic achievement.