LU YANSHAO (1909-1993)

LOT 1680-1689
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ASIAN COLLECTION

LU YANSHAO (1909-1993)
Calligraphy
Handscroll, ink on paper
40 x 181 cm. (15 ¾ x 71 ¼ in.)
Inscribed and signed, with one seal of the artist
Dedicated to Guozhen

Specialist Note:
Lu Yanshao (1909- 1993,) is a Modern Chinese landscape painter whose vigorous style received critical acclaim in the late 20th century.
 
Lu Yanshao was born in the Jiading district of Shanghai in 1909. As a child, he showed an aptitude for art and had a particular fondness for calligraphy and seal carving. Initially, he took lessons in painting from Wu Hufan and Feng Chaoran, in addition to attending the Wuxi Art Academy. He eventually became the student of Wang Tongyu, a former official of the Imperial Court, and an art scholar. As part of his training, he was charged to replicate the works of masters from the Ming and Qing eras, and was drawn to paintings of the Four Wangs: Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Hui, and Wang Yuanqi.
 
When Japan invaded the country in the 1930s, Lu moved to the secluded mountainsides of Tianmushan and Huang Shan, spending two years observing nature and recording his experience in the form of various landscapes. His first solo exhibition was held in 1938. His work displayed a command over calligraphy and meticulous attention to detail, reflecting his commitment to mastering the traditional models of Chinese art.
 
In the 1970s Lu returned to painting in earnest, going on expeditions to various parts of the country to conduct self-studies of nature. He also believed that Chinese painting without any knowledge of Chinese literature was futile and read extensively on these trips, examining the writing of poet Du Fu in particular.
Lu would often disregard the use of outlines, painting without compositional structures in place, but remained true to the esthetic of the ancient art forms of China.
Over the late-1980s and early 1990s, there were a number of solo exhibitions of Lu’s work in Europe and Asia, the first important retrospective being held in 1991 at the Chinese Art Gallery in Shenzhen.