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Lot Essay
During the Wei and Jin dynasties, seven scholars—Ji Kang, Ruan Ji, Shan Tao, Xiang Xiu, Liu Ling, Ruan Xian, and Wang Rong—often retreated to a bamboo grove in Shanyang (modern-day Xiuwu, Henan) to drink, discuss philosophy, and escape worldly concerns. Known as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove, they rejected social conventions and embraced a life of freedom and intellectual independence. Their ideals profoundly shaped the cultural and literary ethos of the time and inspired generations of artists, who depicted them as enduring symbols of personal liberation and philosophical depth.
Fu Baoshi often reached a state of artistic transcendence while drinking, using wine as a conduit to express a deep emotional solitude born from personal hardship. He felt a spiritual connection with historical figures who shared a love of wine, particularly the Seven Sages, whom he viewed as kindred spirits. His painting Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (1945) masterfully blends tradition with innovation, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of his distinctive style.
The painting portrays the sages within a lush bamboo grove—some reading, others conversing, meditating, or strolling—each depicted with vivid individuality. Fu employed a combination of traditional fine-line techniques and his own expressive, broken brushstrokes. The result is a poetic harmony between figure and setting, where dynamic brushwork meets refined detail.
Nearly four feet tall, this grand-scale work is a rare masterpiece from Fu’s Jingangpo period. It invites comparison with his renowned Song of the Pipa Player (1946, fig.), a similarly sized painting completed just a year later. The two works share notable similarities in composition, inscription placement, and visual language, and were likely centrepieces of Fu’s 1947 solo exhibition in Shanghai, according to research in historical archives. Unusually, Fu inscribed the title on a separate titleslip for this painting, suggesting it was part of the landmark exhibition.
This piece was once owned by Alice Boney (1901–1988), a distinguished American dealer of Asian art. Beginning in the 1920s, Boney actively collected and promoted Chinese painting, organising exhibitions across the United States and later acquiring several of Fu Baoshi’s key works. In 1980, the painting entered the renowned Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection and was sold at auction in 2006. It remains in the same private collection to this day.
Fu Baoshi often reached a state of artistic transcendence while drinking, using wine as a conduit to express a deep emotional solitude born from personal hardship. He felt a spiritual connection with historical figures who shared a love of wine, particularly the Seven Sages, whom he viewed as kindred spirits. His painting Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (1945) masterfully blends tradition with innovation, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of his distinctive style.
The painting portrays the sages within a lush bamboo grove—some reading, others conversing, meditating, or strolling—each depicted with vivid individuality. Fu employed a combination of traditional fine-line techniques and his own expressive, broken brushstrokes. The result is a poetic harmony between figure and setting, where dynamic brushwork meets refined detail.
Nearly four feet tall, this grand-scale work is a rare masterpiece from Fu’s Jingangpo period. It invites comparison with his renowned Song of the Pipa Player (1946, fig.), a similarly sized painting completed just a year later. The two works share notable similarities in composition, inscription placement, and visual language, and were likely centrepieces of Fu’s 1947 solo exhibition in Shanghai, according to research in historical archives. Unusually, Fu inscribed the title on a separate titleslip for this painting, suggesting it was part of the landmark exhibition.
This piece was once owned by Alice Boney (1901–1988), a distinguished American dealer of Asian art. Beginning in the 1920s, Boney actively collected and promoted Chinese painting, organising exhibitions across the United States and later acquiring several of Fu Baoshi’s key works. In 1980, the painting entered the renowned Water, Pine and Stone Retreat Collection and was sold at auction in 2006. It remains in the same private collection to this day.