Chapter 607: Not Necessarily Zhang Daqian

Sheng Guoan thought for a moment: "The author is definitely no nobody."

Tian Rulong was stunned again: Hadn't this already been said?

When the painting was first spread out, I asked you: How is this painting? It was you who said yourself that the brushwork felt familiar.

You have studied paintings for half a lifetime and painted for half a lifetime; it is precisely because you feel the brushwork is familiar that it proves the author is a famous master.

While he was secretly pondering, Sheng Guoan turned to the side: "Mr. Zhang, what is your take?"

Zhang Zongxian replied without hesitation: "The brushwork is cautious, the ink tones are simple, the layers are distinct, and the coloring is elegant. The lines are vigorous and fluid, the brush quality is delicate and moist, and the center-tip is full. It has a bit of the brush intent derived from the Stele School, but it pursues fluency and aesthetics too much, lacking the desolate, raw, and ancient feel.

The key lies in the figures: the styling is realistic and common, the outlines of the objects are clear, the images are full and beautiful, and the colors are bright and pleasing—"

After speaking for a long while, Zhang Zongxian paused again: "But I feel that between the lines of the brush, there hides a trace of folk-style freehand expression—if I'm not mistaken, the author should have only recently started learning to paint. His introductory teacher was very likely a folk Craftsman—

Therefore, this painting doesn't just look new; the author is deliberately seeking novelty—but because the effort was too forced, it instead falls into a lower tier—"

Sheng Guoan was stunned for a moment and gave a thumbs up: "Mr. Zhang, I am ashamed of my inferiority!"

It was not flattery, but the truth: he had also seen most of what Zhang Zongxian said, only he felt the author was pursuing perfection and beauty everywhere, and had never thought about the aspect of a folk Craftsman at all.

Now thinking about it: since they are artisans who rely on this to make a living, of course, it is only truly good if the client thinks it is good. If he doesn't pursue beauty and pleasing aesthetics, should he pursue artistic conception?

How much is artistic conception worth?

Zhang Zongxian shook his head: "Junior brother, you don't need to be humble. Our focuses are different: you emphasize creation and look at artistic conception; I only handle Appraisal and look at the surface—"

Hearing this "Junior brother," Tian Rulong remembered: these two were students of the same teacher, both being high-ranking disciples of the great master of Calligraphy and Painting, Mr. Xu Bangda.

And if it comes to authentication, Zhang Zongxian's attainments are a notch higher; otherwise, he could not have built such a large family business, let alone have such high prestige.

Tian Rulong felt that with the in-depth Appraisal of these two, this imitator was about to surface.

While he was thinking, Chen Yangyan leaned over: "Director Tian, what does 'deliberately seeking novelty' mean?"

"Mr. Zhang means: the author's introductory teacher was a street Craftsman, and in order to get rid of the 'craftsman air,' the author set a bunch of rules and frameworks for himself. But because the limits were too strict, not only did he lose his spiritual touch, but he also unconsciously exposed some habitual flaws—"

Tian Rulong paused, "General Manager Chen, you've seen 'Magpie Ascending the Plum,' right? The kind used for New Year pictures!"

Chen Yangyan suddenly realized: No wonder this painting looked like it had a few traces of festivity?

"Director Tian, who painted it?"

Tian Rulong shook his head: "You have to ask Lin Sicheng about that!"

He figured Lin Sicheng must know, but Tian Rulong didn't know how he knew.

Anyway, seeing things as they were now, he didn't have a clue.

And it wasn't just him; this included Sheng Guoan and even Zhang Zongxian: looking at the style, the brush intent, and some details hidden between the lines, these were basically fine.

But to say that based on these clues, one could deduce who the author was, that was not so simple.

Because there are only a few main schools of traditional Chinese painting, and the masters and famous artists in each school are not just a few or a few dozen, but count in the thousands and tens of thousands.

Whose memory is good enough to keep the creative characteristics of tens of thousands of masters in their head?

Therefore, Sheng Guoan and Zhang Zongxian were equally curious.

But fortunately, Lin Sicheng didn't keep them in suspense.

After the guests had digested the information a little, he turned the painting upside down, making the bottom the top.

"Having finished with the shortcomings, it is only right to speak of the advantages. If evaluated objectively, this painting really cannot find any particularly dazzling advantages.

Of course, this is only in terms of creation—"

"If standing from the perspective of a collection, the good or bad of a painting cannot be equated with its value. For example, this one—"

As he spoke, Lin Sicheng picked up a high-magnification Magnifying Glass and aimed it at the pavilion in the middle ground.

At the same time, a specifically enlarged vermilion red appeared on the big screen.

Looking closely again, it should be the second floor of the pavilion in the middle ground of the painting, which was that row of red windows.

But why was Lin Sicheng shining the light there?

While they were suspicious, the group of people looked even more carefully, but suddenly, someone gave a low cry: "In the crack of the window, there seems to be a seal?"

"What thing, a seal?"

"Where is it?"

"Right under the Magnifying Glass, in the gap of the window lattice on the second floor of the pavilion—look closely, it seems to be the character 'Yuan'?"

""

In an instant, everyone's eyes widened: on the second floor of the pavilion, in that row of vermilion windows, a small white-script seal was wedged into the window lattice.

On it was just one character: "Ai".

The group looked at each other: the seal is the name, so who does this "Yuan" refer to?

There is no need to specifically recall; as long as they are collectors who understand painting, they all know that this is Zhang Daqian's childhood name—

Under the vermilion window of the ancient temple, a small white-script seal was embedded.

It was extremely small, no bigger than a grain of yellow rice, and was integrated with the window lattice. If it weren't for the high magnification, and if there weren't a character carved in the middle, one would have thought it was just a slightly protruding piece of the wooden frame.

But that character was carved extremely clearly: the clerical script "Ai" character, there was absolutely no way to mistake it.

The group was half-believing and half-doubting, stunned into silence.

There might be many people with "Ai" in their names, but among painters with "Ai" in their names, the only one they knew was Zhang Daqian.

Zhang Daqian, originally named Zhang Zhengbing, later changed to Zhang Zhengquan, childhood name Yuan; before he took a courtesy name, he was always called Zhang Yuan, while the elders in the family directly called him by his birth order: Zhang Ba.

"Daqian" was the Dharma name he took when he briefly became a monk after his first wife passed away; after returning to secular life, he simply went by "Daqian" for the rest of his life.

Any collector, anyone who understands a little bit of Chinese painting, cannot possibly not know Zhang Daqian. If one were to rank the painters of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Zhang Daqian might not dare to claim first place. But if he claimed second, absolutely no one would dare to claim first.

And as everyone knows, Zhang Daqian was best at Imitating the Ancients. The paintings of masters like Shitao, Bada, Mei Qing, and Shixi that he copied could not even be identified by the most professional appraisers of the time.

And among them, his Landscape Pattern imitations of Shitao were the best.

He used paintings imitating Shitao to deceive Pang Yuanji (an industrialist and collector during the Republic of China), deceive Zhang Boju (a cultural relic merchant and collector during the Republic of China), deceive Huang Binhong and Chen Banding, and even deceive Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong.

Especially the capitalist and collector Cheng Linsheng during the Republic of China. He spent a fortune collecting over a hundred of Shitao's works, always keeping them as authentic pieces. It wasn't until he went bankrupt and was about to sell them that he discovered eighty percent of them were Zhang Daqian's imitations.

The most obvious flaw in these paintings is the tiny white-script "Yuan" seal hidden in the gaps between the mountain rocks, tree clusters, and water outlets of the composition.

Then why, when seeing this painting, has no one ever associated it with Zhang Daqian?

Because it doesn't look like him, and more importantly, because one cannot find any style or characteristics in this painting similar to Zhang Daqian or Shitao.

Just consider this point: since he could even fool appraisal masters like Zhang Boju and Chen Banding, as well as famous masters like Huang Binhong, Qi Baishi, and Xu Beihong, one can imagine how much like the original his imitations were?

Yet this piece is no longer "like," but rather a complete failure, and the key is that it is also painted so poorly.

Therefore, who would dare to connect such a work with Zhang Daqian, who is hailed as the "number one person in five hundred years"? How rich must one's imagination be?

After a long silence, someone suddenly said: "Could this seal also be an imitation?"

No one responded, but as if by prior agreement, a dozen heads nodded in unison.

Every painter must copy the works of predecessors, which in ancient times was called "Mastering through Imitation." They not only copy the works of famous masters, but also copy the imitations of earlier famous masters made by later famous masters.

For example, Zhang Daqian once imitated Shitao's imitation of Ni Zan's "Imitation of Yunlin's Streams and Mountains and Leisure Pavilion," and even more so, he imitated Bada Shanren's imitation of Huang Gongwang's imitation of Zhao Meng's "Layered Peaks over the Heavy River." Regardless of who it was, he could imitate them to the point of passing the fake off as genuine.

Consequently, it is perfectly normal for modern painters to copy Zhang Daqian's imitations of Shitao's works. It is even possible that this piece is a direct forgery.

Isn't it normal for there to be a small seal of Zhang Daqian inside?

But not everyone thought so, such as Sheng Guoan and Zhang Zongxian.

The two stared at that seal for a long time, then looked at each other, their eyes filled with the expression of "so that's how it is."

No wonder the lines of this painting are so soft, the rendering so clean, the colors so bright and clear, and the subject matter so pleasing?

If the imitator is Zhang Daqian, then it makes sense: Zhang Daqian's early style was characterized by vigorous, elegant, smooth, and nimble brushwork. Especially the figures before he went to Dunhuang to copy the murals: the face shapes were round and full, the clothing folds were smooth and neat, and the colors were bright and pleasing.

This is because Zhang Daqian learned to paint from his mother and sister since he was a child; both were folk painters who relied on painting, pattern drawing, and paper-cutting to subsidize the household.

What they painted most were New Year pictures, and Zhang Daqian helped with outlining, tracing, and coloring from the age of eight, learning for eleven full years.

Even though Zhang Daqian was a genius, how could he change habits formed over so many years just like that?

Right up until 1941, before Zhang Daqian traveled far to Dunhuang at the age of forty-two, his works more or less carried this style.

And the earlier the work, the more obvious such characteristics are.

Of course, only a portion can be matched, not all of it. Therefore, concluding that this painting is an imitation by Zhang Daqian is indeed a bit far-fetched. The most critical point is that it is indeed painted somewhat poorly.

But Zhang Zongxian and Sheng Guoan suspected that Lin Sicheng should have other supporting evidence.

First, Lin Sicheng was too confident; second, based on their understanding: if Zhang Daqian left secret signs in his imitations, he would never leave only one.

While they were secretly pondering, Lin Sicheng put down the Magnifying Glass and picked up a thread-ripping knife (an Artifact Restoration tool, similar to a small paper-cutting knife).

The photographer filmed in sync, and it was very clear on the big screen: Lin Sicheng lifted an edge along the narrow silk border of the painting's heart.

The movement was very light, but the speed was extremely fast; the tip of the knife went in half an inch with a single push. Then, with a pull, he lifted a section of the border silk about seven or eight centimeters long.

With a "chi" sound, the border silk was severed, revealing about a finger's length of the backing paper.

Immediately, everyone was stunned: another seal?

It was hidden right under the narrow silk border that Lin Sicheng had just cut; this time it was a red-script square seal, but it was large, about one centimeter or so.

But it was not a character, but a Flower Monogram Seal: it looked like two blades of grass, in a "V" shape.

A group of people realized belatedly: could this also be Zhang Daqian's seal?

But it seems they had never heard of Zhang Daqian carving a Flower Monogram?

The key is that it wasn't carved very well: the four borders were thick on one side and thin on the other, and the two blades of grass were wide on one side and narrow on the other. The lines in the middle were cracked, and the edges showed burrs, as if they were serrated.

It wasn't even very square; it was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, like an inverted trapezoid.

Involuntarily, the venue became lively, with people guessing, appraising, and discussing.

The atmosphere was very enthusiastic, but basically, there were few who believed it and many who did not.

Only Sheng Guoan and Zhang Zongxian stared tightly at that Flower Monogram Seal, with expressions of "as expected" appearing on their faces.

Others didn't recognize it simply because they had seen it rarely—oh no, they had never seen it at all. But the two of them had seen the New Year pictures Zhang Daqian painted in his youth.

Every single one of them had this seal on it—

Lin Sicheng did not explain, but instead flipped the painting over and picked up a water spray bottle.

Everyone present was an expert and could see that he was preparing to remove the backing, which is the few layers of paper on the back of the painting's heart.

Surely there couldn't be a seal hidden in there too?

While they were suspicious, Lin Sicheng squeezed the water bottle, sprayed it twice with a "chi-chi" sound, and then picked up the paper-cutting knife again.

Subconsciously, Zhang Zongxian and Sheng Guoan looked at each other.

Neither of them spoke, but with just a glance, the two could understand the other's subtext: they could not let Lin Sicheng continue to dismantle it.

Otherwise, what would be left for them to do?

The two exchanged a look, and Zhang Zongxian turned his head and nodded gently toward Zhang Yuanfan.

Zhang Yuanfan was suddenly stunned: did Grandfather mean—to let her raise the paddle?

The problem was, where was there any paddle?

Furthermore, Lin Sicheng hadn't even finished the introduction and hadn't mentioned the starting price at all. If she raised a paddle, how much should she bid?

Seeing that Lin Sicheng was about to use the knife, Zhang Zongxian raised his eyebrows, and Zhang Yuanfan had a flash of inspiration: never mind, bid as if it were real.

Then if it were a genuine work by Zhang Daqian, how much would it be worth?

In the instant the thought crossed her mind, Zhang Yuanfan's hand went up: "Five hundred thousand!"

Everyone was stunned: wait—what is going on?

It hasn't even been determined yet, it's not even certain if it's an imitation by Zhang Daqian, and you're offering five hundred thousand?

Taking another ten thousand steps back: even if this is a genuine work by Zhang Daqian, is it worth that much?

Zhang Daqian's paintings are indeed not cheap, but it depends on the time: his peak period, roughly from age sixty until his death, was when his works were most expensive. The most expensive silk-based or gold-paper Splashed Ink and Color masterpieces could easily fetch three to four million per foot, with the highest auction price being six million.

Paper-based Landscape Patterns are slightly lower, basically between 1.5 million and 3 million per foot.

Note, this is not for one painting, but per foot.

During his prime years, that is, between the ages of fifty and sixty, his Landscape Pattern works generally go for eight hundred thousand to two million per square foot.

During the transitional period of change, that is, the works between when Zhang Daqian studied painting in Dunhuang and the age of fifty, the price is lower, basically around four hundred thousand to one million per foot.

Going further back to his youth, the works see a cliff-like drop; for works between the ages of thirty and forty, a masterpiece is one hundred ten to one hundred twenty thousand per foot, while ordinary works are only seventy to eighty thousand per foot.

Of course, this so-called drop is only in comparison to his own works. The average prices of works by Qi Baishi and Xu Beihong from the same period are not even one-third of Zhang Daqian's.

Therefore, don't look at the fact that Zhang Yuanfan only bid five hundred thousand; this price was raised entirely based on the price of a masterpiece from Zhang Daqian's youth: this painting is a four-foot vertical scroll, and even calculating at one hundred twenty thousand per foot, it still doesn't reach five hundred thousand.

But looking at the painting again, no matter how one looks at it, this painting doesn't have a single cent's worth of connection to the word "masterpiece."

What's more, whether it was even painted by Zhang Daqian remains open to question—

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