Tigers Den

Details

YANG SHANSHEN (1913-2004) AND ZHAO SHAO’ANG (1905-1998)
Tigers Den
Hanging scroll, ink and colour on paper
154 x 76.3 cm. (60 5⁄8 x 30 in.)
Inscribed and signed by Zhao Shao’ang, with one seal
One seal of Yang Shanshen
Dated July, thirty-eighth year (of the Republic, 1949)
Dedicated to Shuheng

Literature

Lingnan Paintings, Dr Stephen Lee Tek Loon, Malaysia, February 2020, cover.

Further details

Yang Shanshen, deeply influenced by his teachers Gao Qifeng and the Lingnan master Gao Jianfu, had a profound passion for painting and excelled in capturing the essence of tigers. His depictions of these majestic creatures carried an ancient and profound Japanese charm. In his masterpiece, Tiger Den, Yang portrays a fierce tiger alongside two vulnerable cubs amidst deep mountains and dense forests. Employing delicate brushstrokes, he captures a fleeting moment of the tigers’ movement and utilizes a blend of ink, water, and white powder to bring to life the realistic texture of their fur. Yang believed that achieving lifelike representation in animal painting was paramount, as he sought to convey the inner emotions of his subjects through colours, ink, and lines.

This painting was painted in 1949 on a grand scale, symbolizing a rare early collaboration between two esteemed Lingnan masters. The current owner acquired this piece from Shuheng, to whom the painting was dedicated, in 1993. Liu Shuheng, a Chinese medicine practitioner from Hong Kong, initially commissioned Zhao Shao’ang to paint a tiger for him, but Zhao instead recommended Yang Shanshen for the task. Yang regarded this painting as one of his finest works on the subject, where the imposing presence of the formidable tiger contrasts with the tender vulnerability and warmth emanating from the cubs. Yang felt immense joy upon receiving a photograph of the painting from the current collector and subsequently journeyed to Malaysia to see the painting again four decades after its completion.

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Lot Essay

This collection of Lingnan paintings belongs to Dr. Lee Tek Loon, a veteran art collector from Malaysia. Dr. Lee has a particular fondness for Lingnan art. He has established friendships with many Lingnan artists while acquiring paintings from private collections in Singapore and Malaysia. Over the past few decades, Dr. Lee has zealously built a large and magnificent collection of Lingnan paintings of exceptional quality. This collection has not been seen by the public for many years. Dr. Lee has privately published a catalog as a memento to share with friends, family, and like-minded collectors. Tigers by Yang Shanshen and Zhao Shao’ang (Lot 631) was chosen as the catalog cover.

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