Huaisu écrivant sur une feuille de bananier

Wang, Zhen 王震, né en 1867 à Zhejiang (province), décédé en 1938

En 1922
Papier, Encre, Couleurs - Pigments
Peinture, Calligraphie
Don manuel : Société des Amis du musée Cernuschi

M.C. 2010-3

This work belongs to the artist’s mature period. The depiction of Huaisu, one of the most famous Chinese calligraphers and master of the wild cursive script, echoes an ancient tradition. Huaisu’s biography by Tao Gu (903-970) records that the monk planted banana trees around his hermitage and used their leaves for his calligraphy. This anecdote would become a pictorial theme in its own right, and one that was particularly dear to Ren Bonian.
Wang Zhen’s painting is notable for its vigorous stroke, both in the shore in the foreground and the bamboo in the background. The main lines of this composition are similar to a painting in the Metropolitan Museum, dated 1914 and depicting two goats by a bamboo grove. In contrast with this strong stroke in the manner of calligraphy, the monk’s face is treated in the mogu “boneless” technique and the details of the eyes and beard are added with a light brush. The technique of using the flat side of the brush visible in the foreground, is also used to paint the rocks in a 1924 landscape. This painting is a skilful synthesis of figure and landscape painting. The particularly dynamic composition recalls the Bodhidharma in a landscape (Buddhist Sage) from the former R. Ellsworth collection, today in the Metropolitan Museum. The seals of this painting are similar to those of the large Bodhidharma painting in the Musée Guimet.

Reference(s) : Eric lefebvre, L'Ecole de Shanghai
Fong 2001, p.62)
Wong 2006, p.78-79
Lauer 2008E