

He took the traditional landscape and added smaller details rarely found in earlier paintings, and also chose to depict precipitous terrains rather than smooth-rolling vistas. Pan’s paintings pay homage to the Confucian, Buddhist and Daoist concepts by which earlier Chinese art had always been inspired, but also contain small innovations that make his work utterly unique. Unfortunately, the Cultural Revolution occurred at the peak of Pan’s career: years of public humiliation and renunciations were followed by accusations of spying, after which he faced increased persecution, eventually dying in the hospital in 1971. After completing his formal education, he devoted his life entirely to art, producing many pieces himself and also teaching the subject at a succession of schools and universities. During his school years, he practiced calligraphy, painting and stamp carving, making small creations for his friends and peers. Twentieth-century painter and teacher, Pan Tianshou developed his artistic skills as a boy by copying the illustrations he found in his favorite books. Venue & Date: China Guardian 2018 Autumn Auctions, Lot 355 Pan Tianshou’s View from the Peak epitomizes the painter’s skill with brush and ink Pan Tianshou, View From The Peak, 1963 Realized Price: RMB 287,500,000 (USD 41m) The intimate and beautiful nature of these well-preserved documents ensured a high price when they came up for sale at China Guardian in 2019, with the winning bidder paying over $38m.ġ0. His words, which speak of both melancholy and fraternal affection, are as elegantly written as they are in meaning. The beauty of his writing is manifested in two letters he sent to his brothers around the turn of the 14th century. In addition to his beautiful paintings, which often feature horses, Mengfu practiced calligraphy in a number of styles, exerting a significant influence on the methods used during the Ming and Qing dynasties. His bold brushwork is considered to have caused a revolution in painting that eventually resulted in the modern Chinese landscape.

Venue & Date: China Guardian Autumn Auctions 2019, Lot 1381īorn in 1254, Zhao Mengfu was a scholar, painter and calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty, although he himself was descended from the imperial family of the earlier Song Dynasty. Zhao Mengfu’s letters are as beautiful in meaning as they are in style
