Wu Guanzhong

signed in Chinese and dated 73; signed in Chinese, titled and on the reverse

Important Private Asian Collection

Singapore, Notices The Gallery, Wu Guanzhong: A Journey of Individualism, November 10 - 13, 1994

Wu Guanzhong, Watercolour & Gouache Paintings, Sin Hua Gallery, Singapore, 1990, plate 58
The Art of Wu Guanzhong, PG Publishing, Singapore, 1991, plate 50
Wu Guanzhong: A Journey of Individualism, Notices The Gallery, Singapore, 1994, plate 33
Shui Tianzhong & Wang Hua, ed., The Complete Works of Wu Guanzhong Vol. II, Hunan Fine Arts Publishing House, 2007, p. 225, illustrated in colour

This work is in very good condition. There is evidence of very thin hairline craquelure across the surface, only visible under very close examination. Under UV: There is evidence of one small spot of retouching, 1 cm in length, along the left edge of the work, 18 cm from the top edge.
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Important Private Asian Collection
Lotus: Wu Guanzhong’s flora and fauna masterpiece of the 1970s

Stéphane Mallarmé’s poetry inspired by Monet’s serene ponds aptly describe the perennial scenery in Lotus, making it all the more difficult for us to comprehend Wu Guanzhong’s predicament at that time, having barely stepped out of the darkest period of his life. In early 1966, the Chinese Communist Party’s Conference on Culture and the Arts rejected the notion of modern art outright. From then onward, Wu’s family of five was forcefully separated; the artist suffered ailments from pneumonia to archoptosis; he was even forbidden to paint, write or teach. It took six years before the situation turned around, when Wu’s health gradually improved and he could see his wife during the holidays. Most importantly, the ban on his painting was lifted. In 1973, the artist was sent back to Beijing, heralding hopes that he could resume his work. Wu’s spirit was restored and his energy revitalized as he began creating oil paintings that later marked the pinnacle of his career. Lotus is an epitome of the painter’s hope and joy at the time.

A pristine lotus pond that harkens back half a century ago

Although Lotus depicts nature, it is also a vehicle for the artist to express longings for his home and lost love. Wu travelled constantly in rural China during the 1960s and 1970s, creating many of his works that captured the arid climate of northern China. Lotus, however, belongs to a different realm, where the artist deliberately focused on the pond per se. If he hadn’t written down a caption, it would be difficult to associate the setting with China’s northern capital. Wu first returned to Beijing in early 1973, and by the latter half of the year he headed south to paint landscapes. During his short Beijing sojourn, he created a few canvasses of lotuses, some of which were marked “Zizhuyuan Park” (Purple Bamboo Park), located right outside Beijing’s Xizhimen. The setting of Lotus most likely emanates from this park, in which sceneries emulate the Jiangnan (south of Yangzi) area.

Wu is an impassioned artist, and lotus ponds symbolize happy memories in his life: his hometown Yixing, Hangzhou’s National Academy of Fine Arts, his mentor-teacher Lin Fengmian’s oeuvre, erudite classical literature’s lilting elegance, Zhu Ziqing’s essay Moonlight over the Lotus Pond … Moreover, there are Monet’s multiple renditions of Water Lilies, classics in which Wu immersed himself during his student years in Europe. All of these stem from a period of bliss predating his return to China.

Valiant conceit—A singular artistic temperament

Starting with Qu Yuan of the Warring States period, lotuses have inspired scholars and aesthetes, yielding bountiful output from Li Bai to Zhang Daqian. In some ways, Wu Guanzhong was a traditionalist vis-à-vis the lotus, but he also related to the flower on the most intimate level. He once lamented, “it possesses such singularly strong temperament”, “[I] should record that moment when it reigns supreme, when its dashing red dominates its surroundings … [when it is] seemingly wild and intoxicated.” Wu’s keen determination and fearlessness match perfectly with his view on the lotus.

Among Wu Guanzhong’s floral paintings, the lotus dominates, and Lotus is among his earliest output on the subject. None of the lotus buds in this painting have blossomed, a fitting analogy to Wu’s own life then. We sense the artist on the cusp of launching his career, just as lotus buds are poised to open to the world. Compared with Sanyu—another Chinese artist who used flowers as metaphor—Wu placed his lotuses amidst nature, which in turn provides an endless source of vitality to the composition. Despite life’s vicissitudes, Wu remained steadfast in China, while Sanyu lived a solitary life in exile. The contrasting aesthetics of these two painters seem to echo their own life paths.

A composition that is expertly laid-out, revealing both genius and craft

The majority of Wu’s output in the 1970s comprises oil paintings attaining the grace and charm of Asian aesthetics. A case in point is Lotus, which encompasses both modernist and traditional Chinese characteristics. The artist directs our focus on a lotus flower in the middle of the canvas, creating a sense of symmetry to the left and right, highlighting a classic grace with religious connotations. This is a rare canvas among landscapes seeking to portray nature. Leaves dominate more than half of the canvas, adding vigour to the painting. In order to accentuate the lotus’s dignity and charm akin to Confucian propriety, large leaves strategically overlap in the foreground supporting the stem and bud. These leaves gradually recede to the background, creating a sense of movement within stillness, symbolizing change within stability. Wu’s delicate balancing act of tradition and innovation is evident on every inch of the canvas.

Fusing East and West—Ripples of nature

The lotus has long been a staple of inspiration to Chinese artists. The Tang and Song dynasties witnessed the flourishing of traditional ink-and-brush painting as well as ceramics: the red of cinnabar and the green of ochre fit perfectly with the colour palette of lotus petals and leaves. Yue ware of the Tang dynasty evolved into Longquan ware, and by the seventeenth century, Chinese ceramics won the accolade of “celadon” from French collectors. During Song Emperor Huizong’s reign, the pinnacle of ceramic art developed into Ju ware, and a bowl in the shape of a lotus is still on display at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan. During modern times, artists continue to explore this subject, among them Zhang Daqian who used ink splashes and Wu Guanzhong who delved into oil paintings. Both artists had injected innovative approaches to an age-old subject.

Modern oil painting closely follows optical science, enabling artists to further analyse and refine their craft. Wu Guanzhong immersed himself in landscape painting for many years; he was supremely skilled in subtle colour gradations. The leaves in Lotus appear slightly yellow, or tinged with purple, blue or grey, reflecting minute transformations. What is interesting is that traditional Chinese painting rarely deals with shadows cast by a lotus bud, but rather outlines the bud with painstaking detail. Wu, however, used the water surface to reflect the underbelly of the bud. In contrast, his flower is merely sketched but covered with heavy paint, which presented a novel approach indeed. Monet’s pond surfaces reflect the horizon or forests along the banks. Wu Guanzhong moved one step further, having learnt and adapted from his forebears. While Monet’s lily ponds are beguiling and enthralling, Wu’s lotus pond exudes a freshness that transcends our mundane world. Putting them side by side gives us much thought about both artists’ unique attributes.