Flowers and grasshoppers

Maker Ding Yanyong (Chinese, 1902–1978)

Date1962

MediumHanging scroll: ink on paper

DimensionsImage: 26 x 13 1/2 inches (66 x 34.3 cm)

CultureChina

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of A. Walter Socolow

Terms

Paintings
Hanging scroll: ink
Paper
Chinese

Object number84.128

Label CopyBorn in Guangdong Province, Ding Yanyong studied painting and calligraphy with a private tutor, went to Japan to attend the Tokyo Art Academy, and even learned Western oil painting techniques. He soon rejected the latter in favor of Chinese ink-monochrome painting and was also an accomplished seal-carver. He eventually settled in Hong Kong. Describing his approach to art, the artist said: I love reading painting; I love reading calligraphy. These are my constant occupations. But I never used any work of art as a model. I do not copy painting or calligraphy as preparatory to self-expression as most art teachers persuade us to do. Once you start modelling your work on anyone, you lose your individuality. However, by reading the art of the masters, you imbibe their spirit, which becomes part of you. Then lifting your brush, that spirit flows from its tip!

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