Modern Ink - Böcker

The enigmatic Chinese monk-painter Xugu (1823–1896), with his daring brush techniques and implicit expression of spiritual insight, stands out among notable innovators in the late Qing period. Despite the political upheaval and cultural decay of his day, he tapped the creative spring of Chan (Zen) Buddhism to develop a highly personal and modern visual language within the calligraphic idiom of traditional scholars' art. His portraits and landscapes, along with his depictions of flowers, fruits, and animals, convey quiet elegance, sensitivity, ethereality – and at times humor – even as they surprise with their unconventionality and tendency toward abstraction. This monograph, illustrated in full color, examines seventeen paintings and one rare work of calligraphy by this extraordinary artist in the context of his life and stylistic development. The inclusion of a portrait by two of his close associates provides perspective on the enduring impact of Xugu's vital breakthroughs on the burgeoning art center of nineteenth-century Shanghai and beyond.

Wrenched by warfare and famine from the quiet life of a small-town scholar to the fast-growing treaty port of Shanghai, Wu Changshi (1844–1927) rose to the forefront of the jinshi, or “epigraphic,” movement in calligraphy and painting. His inventive method of adapting the rugged strength of ancient engraved texts to his own brushwork reinvigorated Chinese art through a reconnection with its earliest roots. In bold xieyi or free-style flower-and-bird scenes and landscapes, he fully integrated the four disciplines of painting, calligraphy, poetry, and seal carving. This volume presents outstanding examples of this master’s calligraphy and paintings, illustrated in full color, along with scholarly discussions of his important contribution to the development of ink painting in the modern world.