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Lot Essay
Located in the subtropical zone, Taiwan is a warm and humid place. Therefore Kinichiro Ishikawa reckons that watercolour is the most suitable media to depict the Taiwan scenery, he once said, "Kthe moisture in [Taiwan's] air is just like a flimsy silk cloth embracing the mountains and plains, it is fun and graceful. The clouds and sunshine are the island's unique beauty, the mainland simply cannot compare with it." Being a student of Kinichiro Ishikawa, Ran In-ting inherited the traditional Western one-point perspective to represent Taiwan's natural scenery. In addition, he incorporated wrinkling and rubbing techniques of ink painting retaining the transparency of colour, and at the same time, create multiple layering in the picture between dry and wet, thick and thin. His works in the 1960s mostly emphasize on depicting the rainy weather and humid mist.
In the 1964 Village by the River (Lot 1144), the artist no longer emphasizes on distinct contour of the scenery, by grasping the special features of the media, he employs either leaving areas unpainted or overlapping in his dry-rubbing or touching up brushstrokes, so as to render the scenery composition and spatial relation more transparent and unrestrained. On the left hand side of the picture, a shepherd boy and his cow return from grazing, guiding the audience's line of vision towards houses at the centre. Ran uses the juxtaposition of cool and warm colours and lines to create focus in the picture. Village by the River employs wet-on-wet technique, with diversified line variations running through the picture. In the foreground, roadways and bushes are painted with broad brushes and sparse fine lines. Here the artist's interest in depicting the effects of light on water surface can be seen. The bluish-green colours suggest the abundant natural scenery, and wavelets on the river are simplified as intersecting lines, whereas the vacant spaces in between represent the reflected sunlight. In the background, the bamboo forest's saturation is tuned down. The bending of the bamboo trunk, and the interspersing wet and dry brushstrokes featured on the bamboo leaves, illustrate the toughness of bamboo facing harsh winds. With the distinct layering of washes between the foreground and background, and the orderly spacing, it is as if we can hear the wind through the bamboo forest. The unique lifestyle of the Taiwanese people has been deeply imprinted in this watercolour. The subject matter shows the deep love and concern for his homeland and its simple and unadorned daily life, rich in humanity.
In the 1964 Village by the River (Lot 1144), the artist no longer emphasizes on distinct contour of the scenery, by grasping the special features of the media, he employs either leaving areas unpainted or overlapping in his dry-rubbing or touching up brushstrokes, so as to render the scenery composition and spatial relation more transparent and unrestrained. On the left hand side of the picture, a shepherd boy and his cow return from grazing, guiding the audience's line of vision towards houses at the centre. Ran uses the juxtaposition of cool and warm colours and lines to create focus in the picture. Village by the River employs wet-on-wet technique, with diversified line variations running through the picture. In the foreground, roadways and bushes are painted with broad brushes and sparse fine lines. Here the artist's interest in depicting the effects of light on water surface can be seen. The bluish-green colours suggest the abundant natural scenery, and wavelets on the river are simplified as intersecting lines, whereas the vacant spaces in between represent the reflected sunlight. In the background, the bamboo forest's saturation is tuned down. The bending of the bamboo trunk, and the interspersing wet and dry brushstrokes featured on the bamboo leaves, illustrate the toughness of bamboo facing harsh winds. With the distinct layering of washes between the foreground and background, and the orderly spacing, it is as if we can hear the wind through the bamboo forest. The unique lifestyle of the Taiwanese people has been deeply imprinted in this watercolour. The subject matter shows the deep love and concern for his homeland and its simple and unadorned daily life, rich in humanity.