Lot 203: FA RUOZHEN (1613-1696)

MISTY LANDSCAPE

MISTY LANDSCAPE

46 7/8 by 17 3/4 in., 119 by 45 cm.

hanging scroll, ink on paper
signed Huangshan Fa Ruozhen at the age of seventy-three, inscribed, with a dedication, and with two seals of the artist, Fa Ruo Zhen Yin, Huang Shi, and one collector's seal of C.C. Wang, Wang Ji Qian Shi Shen Ding Zhen Ji

NOTE

This painting is an good example of the type of landscape Fa Ruozhen painted late in his career. The artist's use of short hatch-like brushstroke on the tops of mountains and rocks gives a vibrating effect to the landscape. The boundaries between shoreline and water are confused by the use of mist and gentle washes in the middle of the composition. His best works are considered to be those painted in the last fifteen years of his life. Fa was also considered a famous poet and official, and was a member of the Hanlin Academy.

Compare an example sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 31^st October 1999, lot 33; and another sold in these rooms, 30^th November 1994, lot 160.