WU CHANG SHUO (1844-1927) THE THREE FRIENDS OF... Lot 133

WU CHANG SHUO (1844-1927) THE THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER Vertical painting in Indian ink on paper, representing the "three friends of winter", the pine, the bamboo and the prunus, surrounding rocks, the first two going through the winter with their evergreen foliage, the third flowering at the end of the season, all three symbolizing resistance, tenacity and adaptation. A calligraphy in the upper right corner gives the title, signature and age of the painter who was then 77 years old (1920). A VERTICAL PAINTING, INK AND COLOURS ON PAPER, THE THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER, DATED 1920. DIM. 135 X 67 CM (53 1/8 X 26 3/8 IN.) Biography : A famous calligrapher and painter from a Confucian classical background, Wu Changshuo was part of a group of scholars who were inspired by 17th-century individualist painters such as Bada Shanren and Shitao. In the second half of the 19th century, they created their own style, thus founding the Haipai school, or Shanghai school, representing a certain modernity. Early on, he was attracted to calligraphy, particularly sigil writing, and began engraving seals. It was his meeting with Ren Bonian that was decisive for his career as a painter, which he arrived at quite late, specializing in the representation of flowers and trees, particularly prunus, orchids, chrysanthemums and pines. Ren Bonian advised him to "write" his painting. In this respect, our painting has the spontaneity of calligraphy and its structure of vertical lines.