Wieneke Archive Book 4i : Art - General Presscuttings

THE SIXTH PATRIARCH CHOPPING BAMBOO- Liang K'ai, 13th century, Sung Dynasty. ONE OF THE EIGHT PRIZED STEEDS- Guiseppe Castiglione,I688-1766,Ch'ing Dynasty. FISH AND RUCKS - Chil '1'u,16251705, Ch'ing Dynasty. but 111LACI1s Lu am' ;hal you don't have to be an academic to write it. For the majority of Westerners, he admits, Chinese art is something of a problem. For Australians it is a large problem because there is so little of it here to be seen. Flipping through the pages of his book. Capon points to a 17th century painting by Chu Ta (Chu-da) called Fish and Rocks which is dramatically abstract. "A painting of that sort of abstraction of natural elements was weird to a 17th cen- tury European: or 18th or 19th century European for that matter. "It's only recently, and I mean recently,. because of the abstract contemporary movement, that this painting can be better understood and appreciated.' Turning to another painting, River Land- scape executed in 1704 by Wang Yuan Ch Capon again points out the abstraction in the details of rocks, mountains and trees. "At that time in Europe," he says emphati- cally, "there was nothing even REMOTELY comparable to this." Going furthur back, Capon points out a work by Liang K'ai done in the 13th Cen- tury. It shows a man chopping a bamboo plant. This drawing, explains. Capon, represents a very important tradition which emerged in the south in the Sung Dynasty. It was known, he says, as the Contempla- tive (Ch'an) Style, or in Japan, the Zen. It was a style wick reflected the isolation of man on one hand and his closeness to na- ture on the other. "Ma Yuan's Landscape with Egrets on a Snowy Bank. is of this same pcpba and to- gether these two works encapsulate the contemplative and philosophic notions of the time." Just why these pictures were moody and contemplative can be explained in historical terms, says Capon. The ruling house of Sung had been defeated in the north in the early 12th century. and had been pushed into the south where they had re-esta- blished themselves. This had promoted a certain cultural and philosophical intro- spection which, says Capon, is reflected in Ma Yuan's paintings. Capon's book covers paintings from the second century BC to AD 1952. The last painting shows an agricultual co-op on which the inscription calls for increased production. "I've included this picture to show how alive the tradition still is and to emphasise the continuity of Chinese art," he explains. The book lists the general characteristic of Chinese painting, whatever century, as being an ink or wash placed on silk or paper. "The Chinese never used oils because line has always been paramount," Capon ex- plains. While most of us know little about Chinese art, most of us do know that the Chinese were crazy (somewhat like their English cousins) about putting the horse in pictures or fashioning them in ceramics. (The famed Tang horse, for example). There are good reasons for this. The horse, says Capon, in the second and third centu- ries was the basis of transport. But when the Chinese crossed central Asia they en- countered a new breed of horse called the Fergano. Before that they were only Mongol ponies. The Fergano (like a new model car) was larger, swifter, more resilient. "This, of course, immediately endeared them to the Chinese, and they became a vital and favorite subject in Chinese art. "In fact, no other animal has the same kind of pre-eminence in Chinese paintings as the horse." This point is well illustrated in the book: there are pictures of horses from the third century, through the Tang and Mongol Dy- nasties, right up to Guiseppe Castiglione in the 18th century and the present. Guiseppe Castiglione? True. Castiglione, an Italian Jesuit, went to China in 1715 and later became a painter at the Manchu Court. This unlikely event, as the book notes, "produced an appropriately unusual style, a blend of occidental naturalism and Chinese techniques." Horses were certainly his, or the Court's, greatest interest, and he produced many works which showed the animal accurately proportioned and methodically perfect in detail - all uncharacteristic qualities in Chinese painting. One or two of Castiglione's horses will be in the coming exhibition, as well as most of the painters already mentioned from Cap- on's book. If horses were a favorite subject in Chi- nese painting, the nude figure, quite con- trary to European art, certainli, was NOT. Except, that, is, in rare erotic paintings. Chinese erotic art," says CaPon'"the figures are small and delicate, and usually EGRETS ON A SNOWY BANE - placed in a subordinate situation t scene. The faces always have a bland el mused look, which is in complete contra Japanese erotic art which is always c gerated and aggressive. "The men in Japanese erotic art," Capon, "have penises like oak trees. '2 is an obsessional quality to it. "The European painter," states Capt primarily concerned with with form Lure, color and realism. The Chinese ter is always, even in landscape, mina! with the IDEA. The human presence AINDSGSSCULP TURF GRAPHICS ,:ATIOSS RESTORATIONS I RT BOOKS Gtaraci Famous i BRIDGE' Current two r,INA1.1AN /119.1dwoo 1,4a, 10, Saturday II ay. 15 Derby SL 103) 11 UM AUCTION IMPORTANT COLLECTORS SALE ON BEHALF OF Dr. Toussaint (and other vendors) In our Gallery Salesroom Sunday 22nd July, at 11 a.m. This diverse offering will Include A large number of Works of Art and Prints by noted Artists, such as, Sidney Nolan, Judy Cassab, Hans Heysen, Juliet Schlunke. Charles Blackman, Brett Whiteley, Hem, Basun, Lawrence Daws, Andrew Sibley. John Howley, Dali, Sam Fullbrooch, John Coburn, James Gleason, Tom Gleghorn, Sister Dorothy, Jeremy Gordon, Seymour Segal, Deslderous Orban, John Olsen. Lloyd Rees, Noel Couniham, Arthur Boyd. A library of Australian and World Art History. Noted Novels, Medical and Reference Books. Photogravure of Australian and World Scenes. Large collection of Money Boxes including Cast Iron, China, Tin, Wood etc. Furniture including - Early Victorian Walnut Table, Victorian Walnut Canterbury, pair of Victorian Mahogany Pedestals, Walnut Biedermeyer Mirror, Victorian Mahogany Dumb Waiter, Chinese carved and inlaid Chairs, Tables, early Oak Coffer, four door Pine Bookcase, early Mahogany and Ivory inlaid Jewel Box, Mahogany semi circular Table, Victorian lacquer and inlaid Chairs and Oak Corner Cabinet. On View Saturday 10am4pm Enquiries: Thomas Barolits JAMES R. LAWSON PTY. LIMITED 236 Sydney 26 64081 Street,