In the Beijing Yongle Autumn Auction of Ancient Chinese Calligraphy and Painting held on December 2, a vertical axis of Wang Yuanqi's "Qiulin Yuandai" was fiercely contested by collectors, and finally fell for 48 million yuan, plus commission and finally sold for 55.2 million yuan, and the "Four Kings" in the early Qing Dynasty once again became a hot topic in ancient calligraphy and painting collections.
Wang Yuanqi Qiulin Yuandai Vertical Axis
RMB 55,200,000
Beijing Yongle 2021-12-02
Who is the "Four Kings" and why are the prices of works rising? And why did it cause a heated debate in the 20th century?
How did the "Four Kings" finally counterattack after several ups and downs, and will its follow-up market continue to be brilliant?
The answers to these questions may help painting and calligraphy lovers to understand the "Four Kings" in depth, and provide a more accurate orientation for learning and investment.
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The "Four Kings" refers to the four landscape painters Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Yi and Wang Yuanqi. The paintings of the four people have their own advantages, but the overall style inherits the vein of Dong Qichang, and strives to collect the great achievements of the ancient pen and ink layout. The "Four Kings" landscape painting method is rigorous and profound, showing the artistic appearance of dry pen thirst and ink, layer by layer, aesthetic taste tends to be refined, and because it is favored by the royal family, it is regarded as authentic, influencing the Qing Dynasty painting world for more than 200 years.
"Four Kings" boy band: Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Yi, Wang Yuanqi
However, the "Four Kings" have not always been unique. The introduction of modern and modern Western painting set off a wave of artistic revolution in the Chinese painting world, and the "Four Kings", as a representative of feudal art, were fiercely criticized by innovative artists such as Xu Beihong, Liu Haisu, Lin Fengmian and so on. Chen Duxiu also clearly proposed in the article "Art Revolution" to "the life of the king of the revolution", and the "four kings" became the target of everyone for a while. The great contrast between its experiences before and after is strongly contextual and non-objective.
Chen Duxiu's article "The Revolution of Fine Arts- Answering Lü Liang" was published in The New Youth, Vol. VI, No. 1
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Until the 1980s, China's literary and art circles entered a stage of great reflection, the academic atmosphere was open and free, and the study of the "Four Kings" also entered a new stage. At the "Four Kings" International Symposium on Painting Art held by Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House in 1992, more than 30 well-known scholars reported on the new progress of the "Four Kings" research, corrected the previous views that had "historical limitations and one-sidedness", objectively positioned the "Four Kings" in the overall context of the history of the development of Chinese painting, and advanced from the overall evaluation to case studies, and also re-understood the respective pen and ink programs of the "Four Kings", as well as the aesthetic realm, spiritual space and artistic contributions in them.
Wang Shimin 1647 Imitation of various landscape albums Album (10 kai)
RMB 120,750,000
China Trade Shengjia 2011-11-06
Wang Shimin (1592-1680) was a leading figure in the "Four Kings" of the early Qing Dynasty, who had close contacts with Dong Qichang, Chen Jiru and other calligraphers and painters in his early years, and was one of the "Nine Friends in Painting". Wang Shimin copied the famous relics of the Song and Yuan Dynasties all his life, and was fascinated by Huang Gongwang all his life, paying special attention to the style of pen and ink, but there were few changes in the hills and valleys. His early works imitated Huang Gongwang and had quite Dong Qichang's brushwork, and he began to form a personal appearance in middle age, and his painting style became more and more mature in his later years, forming a style of cangrun ancient and elegant and beautiful.
Wang Jian, 1668, Album of Antique Landscapes Album (10 kai)
RMB 45,920,000
Beijing Kuangshi 2010-06-05
Wang Jian (1598-1677) was the great-grandson of Wang Shizhen, a famous collector of calligraphy and paintings in the Ming Dynasty, whose family collection of ancient and modern famous relics is very rich, which provides convenience for him to copy the authentic paintings of previous dynasties. Wang Jian was personally taught by Dong Qichang in his early years, and after that, the painting industry developed further along the direction of imitation of the ancients that Dong Qichang paid attention to. Wang Jian's works integrate the brush and ink structure of Dong Yuan, JuRan, Wang Meng and many others to form their own rich landscape painting language. However, Wang Jian is not limited to the law, pays attention to the creation of the image of the hill, and combines ink, light and green in the appearance of the painting method, forming a personal style of ink rhyme and luster and clean temperament.
Wang Yi 1710 Tang Poetry Intention Hand Scroll
RMB 126,500,000
China Guardian 2011-11-13
Wang Yi (1632-1717) was born as a professional painter who made a living from antiques, and was later guided and promoted by Wang Jian and Wang Shimin; he was also introduced to the palace, which was appreciated by the Kangxi Emperor and gave the four characters of "Landscape and Water Qinghui" as a reward. The experience of creating for the royal family enabled Wang Yi to look at the famous monuments of the past in the Inner House, and the quality of professional painters made him good at absorbing the strengths of various families and casting the two sects of the North and the South, just as he called himself "with the pen and ink of the Yuan people, the hills and valleys of the Song dynasty, and the charm of the Tang dynasty". While integrating the great achievements of the ancient techniques, Wang Yi also pays attention to observing nature, and can integrate the essence of pen and ink with the vividness of the hills and ravines, so as to achieve the effect of seizing the essence of the creation and reopening the life of the ancients.
Wang Yuanqi in 1701 imitated Huang Zijiu's shallow landscape and water hand scroll
RMB 41,252,225
Christie's Hong Kong 2017-11-27
Wang Yuanqi (1642-1715), the grandson of Wang Shimin, whose landscape is directly derived from his grandfather and has a stronger appearance and a more mellow smell of pen and ink. Wang Shimin was born as a jinshi, and because of the name of the painting, he was enshrined in the inner court of the Kangxi Dynasty, and was responsible for identifying ancient and modern famous paintings. His paintings have been based on the strengths of all the families, and he has achieved the effect of "ripe but not sweet, raw and not astringent, light and thick, solid and clear", and has reached a very high level in the exploration of pen and ink and form. Most of his works in the mature period integrate Huang Gongwang and Dong Qichang into one, and participate in the method of Ni Zhan or Dong Yuan, like to use dry pen to burn ink, layer by layer, pen and ink are more vigorous and changeable, with a unique humble and simple taste.
From the Qing Dynasty's "painting with a positive vein" and the authenticity of the National Dynasty, to the "infamous" and "soft bones" of the 20th century, and then to today's works shine in the art market at home and abroad, and the transaction price has repeatedly reached new highs, the essence of the ups and downs of the "Four Kings" is the confrontation between China and the West, the collision of tradition and modernity, and the cultural shock caused by the alternation of the old and new social systems. Lang Shaojun also mentioned in his article "The Four Kings in the Twentieth Century": "The criticism of the 'Four Kings' is often linked to the reappraisal of the history of Chinese painting (especially since the Ming and Qing dynasties), and even to the literati painting and Dong Qichang. Therefore, the ups and downs of the "Four Kings" are also the ups and downs and nirvana experienced by traditional Chinese painting.
Where is the "tradition" in the "Four Kings" painting expressed?
What else do they paint except for the ancients?
Which type of work has the best market prospects?
Artbase art topic "Four Kings in the Early Qing Dynasty" is divided into four columns: Wang Shimin, Wang Jian, Wang Yi and Wang Yuanqi, and has selected 1500 "Four Kings" calligraphy and painting works and 173 related articles for members, which is convenient for members to have a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the artistic appearance of the "Four Kings" and its market performance. It is believed that with the public's re-recognition of the value of the "Four Kings" works, its follow-up market will still have a strong momentum.
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