Chapter 293 - Dipankara Buddha Painting
Translator: Lav
Editor: Likia
The first painting was gradually revealed in Chen Yanü’s hands and the entire display room became completely silent as everyone studied it attentively.
It was a painting of mountains and water. The atmosphere was simple and unadorned, which was the style of a more modern painter.
Old Bai nodded slightly as a compliment. “Mr. Piao Cun’s mountains and water are dark, heavy, and dense. His brushstrokes are meticulous both horizontally and vertically. The painting displays its true essence and really broadens your mind.”
Everyone copied Old Bai as he made his comment and began to discuss amongst themselves, but Shi Lei didn’t understand a single word of it. After a moment of hesitation, he pulled out his phone, did some brief research on Piao Cun, and found out that this person’s real name was Huang Binghong. He was an extremely famous painter in recent Chinese history.
Wei Xingyue stumbled when saw Shi Lei was looking down at his phone. She thought: Don’t tell me this kid really knows nothing about art? My father told me to bring him to this gathering. What on earth did he mean? Don’t tell me he just wants to watch Shi Lei humiliate himself?
Chen Yanü unrolled the second painting, which was one of mountains and water in red, by a contemporary painter with the communist revolution as its theme, which had been quite popular in the past few years.
Shi Lei couldn’t figure anything out by looking at it, nor did he understood anything. However, his eyes were filled with red, which was quite interesting.
He looked up the painter again and Wei Xingyue saw him do so. She gave up, already believing that he really didn’t know anything about art.
It didn’t take long before they finished displaying all six paintings. There were less than twenty people there and the majority of them had already seen these artworks before. They also talked about their impressions privately, so after Old Bai’s comments, they nodded in agreement and some people occasionally added an extra sentence or two.
Everyone understood that the day’s focus was the copy of Zhang Sengyou’s artwork that Old Bai had received. He had saved it for last. Although it was only a just, it was a copy made by someone in the Song Dynasty, and Old Bai had also said that it was perfect in both physical and spiritual form. It was an antique with an extremely high value that everyone looked forward to.
When Chen Yanü rolled the last one up and placed it into its brocade box, a man with another box in his hands squeezed out from the side. Everyone’s gaze shifted toward that box. They all knew that it had to be the copy of Zhang Sengyou’s work that Old Bai had recently received.
Old Bai gestured for the man to place the box on the long table. This time, he didn’t ask Yanü to display it. He placed the walnuts in his pocket and passed the dragon head scepter to her. Then he picked up the white silk gloves he had prepared beforehand and put them on leisurely before solemnly opening the box.
To someone like Old Bai, monetary wealth wasn’t something he focused on, since the most expensive thing couldn’t hold a candle to his background and family. The reason why he was so serious was because Zhang Sengyou was a master painter in the ancient times who didn’t hand down any of his artwork. Even if it was only a copy, it captured the essence of his style and had a significant impact in a cultural aspect.
Before this, compared to the copy of Zhang Sengyou’s work, only the “Five Stars of the Lunar Mansions” counted as proficient in its physical and spiritual form. However, it had been taken by the Japanese, which was a great pity.
If the artwork was really what Old Bai had described, then it was enough to compete with the “Five Stars of the Lunar Mansions.” Its cultural value and the significant impact it carried would be able to fill an empty space in the history of Chinese paintings.
As Old Bai took the painting out of the brocade box, everyone held their breath and waited to see the rare and excellent work of art.
Chen Yanü grasped the other end of the scroll and gradually revealed the painting along with Old Bai.
Shi Lei could already hear gasps from the crowd when only half of the painting had been unrolled. He turned toward it and saw a Buddha. Even if only half of it had been revealed, they could already see that it was a Dipankara Buddha painting. There was a halo behind his head and many small and delicate Buddhas hidden within the halo.
“A Dipankara Buddha painting!” Someone exclaimed.
“It’s actually a Dipankara Buddha painting!”
“Is this a copy of the Dipankara Buddha painting that Zhang Liaoyuan collected?”
“The body is full and the expression is confident and elegant. As expected, he captured Zhang Sengyou’s essence!”
“This is what the Zhang family’s art looks like!”
The crowd couldn’t wait to give their comments as the painting was completely revealed. They could not wait for Old Bai’s analysis and were shocked by the artwork displayed before them.
As lovers of art, the people there had all been to Osaka to research and look into the “Five Stars of the Lunar Mansions,” which was a copy made by someone in the Tang Dynasty. They were so familiar with Zhang Liaoyuan’s famous work, the “Famous Paintings in History,” that they could all commit it to memory. This provided them a profound understanding of Zhang Sengyou’s style, techniques, and method of illustration. Even if they had never seen this painting before, that didn’t stop them from recognizing it through Zhang Sengyou’s distinct style.
Old Bai nodded in satisfaction as he watched the crowd’s reaction. When he first laid eyes on this painting, he had also been fascinated and had the same thoughts as everyone else.
More than ten minutes passed before the people stopped giving their comments, but they were still appreciating and studying the artwork. Every single stroke and every single color fascinated them greatly.
Even Wei Xingyue had let go of Shi Lei’s arm and taken a step forward. In this moment, Wei Xingyue could see nothing but the art. She had loved art ever since she was a child and the shock she felt was impossible to put into words.
“Xingyue, I mentioned just then that I’d let you analyze it. Let us hear what opinions you have on this work of art!” Old Bai’s gaze fell on Wei Xingyue and he spoke with a smile.
Wei Xingyue’s expression was solemn as she organized her thoughts before speaking. “I don’t dare analyze it, but I’ll say what I have in mind. When I see this painting, I feel like there’s not enough words to describe it. I can only repeat what was said by the ancients. This painting was created in the second year of Da Guan(1), which indeed makes it an art of the Song Dynasty. It should be a work in the period of the third reign of Emperor Huizong of the Song. The painter had been a model for others at the time and only wanted to be an ordinary artist. In the autumn of one of the ten heavenly stems, Wu Zi also fitted to the second branch of the second year of Da Guan, which is indeed a work from the Song Dynasty. The skills behind the dots and lines in this painting resemble that of Madam Wei’s. Every single stroke is extremely beautiful, which led to the wonderful invention of the style of paintings drawn in lines. The contrast between vivid and dim allows the painting to look three dimensional and alive from afar, but flat at a closer proximity. This method of painting flowers is a style of Mahayana. As expected, Zhang Sengyou was a great master and the person who painted this as a copy caught the spirit and essence of the Zhang family’s style.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Old Bai, who smiled slightly. “Xingyue, your words are too flattering. You are almost repeating what the people in history said, without anything new to add.”
Wei Xingyue also smiled. “When facing such an excellent work of art, I have no choice but to stick to the old words passed down in history.”
Everyone laughed, and Old Bai didn’t force her to continue. He looked around the room and asked, “Who else wants to comment on it?”
The crowd shook their heads. Someone even said, “This painting is heavenly. How do we dare to? We only need to appreciate its brilliance in silence.”
“Congratulations, Old Bai. This painting is more than enough to compare to the ‘Five Stars of the Lunar Mansions.’ Our country finally has a copy of Zhang Sengyou’s art that captures the essence of his other works.”
“It’s not that amazing…” A voice suddenly said.
Da Guan: The years from 1107-1110 in Northern Song Dynasty