The tiger is the king of the hundred beasts and is considered a symbol of justice, bravery and majesty. People's worship of tigers began with the totem worship of tigers in Chu culture.
Since ancient times, people have been accustomed to using words such as "living dragon and living tiger", "hidden dragon crouching tiger", "like a tiger adding wings", "will door tiger" and other words to praise the people and things in life.
Ming Anon. 《内府驺虞圖) (partial) Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Tigers have also been favored by the holy hands of Danqing in successive dynasties, Wei Xie and Zhang Shengxuan of the Southern and Northern Dynasties of wei and Jin, Wu Daozi of the Tang Dynasty, Shi Ke and Bao Ding of the Song Dynasty, Zhou Gengyun of the Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Lian and Dai Jin of the Ming Dynasty, Hua Yao and Lang Shining of the Qing Dynasty, Qi Baishi, Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, Zhang Shanxiao, Liu Kuiling, Xu Beihong, Liu Jijie of the Modern Dynasty, and contemporary wu Guanzhong, Wang Ziwu, Huang Yongyu, Fan Zeng, Feng Da and other famous artists have all painted "tiger" theme works.
Among the zodiac-themed works, the number of "tiger" theme works is relatively large. In the auction market, the "tiger" theme works also have a good performance. Modern and contemporary masters Qi Baishi, Zhang Shanxiao, Xu Beihong, and contemporary "tiger" works such as Wu Guanzhong, Wang Ziwu and Feng Dazhong are highly sought after by the public. Among them, the highest transaction price was Qi Baishi's "Tiger" (see picture below) in 1950, which was jokingly called "sick cat" and sold for 28.1776 million yuan in 2010. Legend has it that Qi Baishi, because he did not like the great general named Yang Hu, who was forced to make friends in his later years and had a capricious personality, once painted two pictures of tigers without a painted face and a sick tiger to give to this great general to express his reluctance to see each other again, and this work is one of them.
"Tiger" theme works sold top 10 at auction
1. Qi Baishi made a tiger in 1950
Realized price (RMB): 28,177,600
Auction company: Sotheby's Hong Kong
2. Wu Guanzhong made a group of tigers in 1990
3. Wu Guanzhong as a tiger in 1994
Realized price (RMB): 10,145,300
Auction company: Poly Hong Kong
4. Zhang Shanxiao made a tiger in 1939
Realized price:5,750,000
Auction company: Xiling Printing Company
5. Zhang Shanxiao made a picture of the Huangshan Divine Tiger in 1935
6. Xu Beihong, 1917, Double Tiger Diagram
Realized price (RMB): 5,635,000
7. Wang Ziwu, 1973, Tiger Howling
Realized price (RMB): 4,600,000
Auction company: Beijing Kuangshi
8. Feng Dazhong, 1988, made a Fuhu diagram
Realized price (RMB): 4,370,000
Auction company: Shanghai Jinghua
9. Liu Jiji WuSong fights tigers
Realized price (RMB): 3,680,000
Auction company: Beijing Hanhai
10. Guan Liang Luohan Fuhu Diagram
Realized price (RMB): 3,450,000
Auction Company: Rong Baozhai (Jinan)
In order to carry forward the traditional zodiac culture, on the occasion of the Year of the Tiger in 2022, artbase specially launched the special topic of "Tiggo Chengxiang - The Twelve Zodiac Signs in Chinese Painting", selecting 1,000 Chinese paintings with zodiac themes from past generations such as Chen Rong, Han Gan, Ming Xuanzong, Qi Baishi, Xu Beihong, Han Meilin, etc., showing the artistic images of different zodiac signs generated, interpreted and frozen in the paintings of famous artists of past generations.