DING Yanyong
(China 1902–1978)
- Title
- Birds, flower, leaves and figure
- Other titles:
- Birds, flower and figure
- Place of origin
-
China
- Year
- 20th century
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- 9 album leaves ink on paper; 1 ink and colour on paper
- Dimensions
-
10 album leaves, each 34.5 x 33.5 cm (average):
1 - figure; 35 x 34.6cm; height x width
2 - beetle/leaves; 34 x 33.5cm; height x width
3 - sparrow; 35 x 33.6cm; height x width
4 - 2 swallows; 34.5 x 33.5cm; height x width
5 - 3 sparrows; 34.8 x 34.6cm; height x width
6 - 3 chickens (colour); 34.3 x 33.6cm; height x width
7 - fish; 34.1 x 33.9cm; height x width
8 - cicada/flower; 34.8 x 34.5cm; height x width
9 - round man; 34.6 x 34.2cm; height x width
10 - squirrel; 34.1 x 34.4cm; height x width
- Signature & date
- 1. Signed u.r., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 2. Signed u.l., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 3. Signed l.r., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 4. Signed and titled u.l., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 5. Signed and titled l.r., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 6. Signed l.r., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 7. Signed u.r., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 8. Signed l.r., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 9. Signed and titled u.r, in Chinese, inscribed in black ink. Not dated. 10. Signed l.r., in Chinese, inscribed in black ink "…Ding Yangyong". Not dated. Signed l.r. corner, in Chinese, stamped in red ink " Ding [artist's seal]"
- Credit
- Purchased 1985
- Accession number
- 83.1985.1-10
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Born of a wealthy family in Gaozhou, Guangdong Province, he completed his secondary education and then went to the Tokyo Academy of Art from which he graduated when 23. His early works show much western influence, but by the early 1930s he had abandoned his interest in Western painting to devote himself to Chinese ink painting, feeling that, in his own words 'Chinese art is superior (to Western art) in the sense that its artistic expressions are limitless - because it is not tied to any exterior form.' After the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-45, Ding became head of the reorganised Guangdong Provincial Art College.
In these seemingly effortless drawings, familiar subjects are treated with a delightful freshness and great economy. The sparseness of the compositions, the paring down to the absolutely essential, adds a keenness to our enjoyment of the sketches.
Asian Art Department, AGNSW, April 1985.
- Bibliography (1)
-
Jackie Menzies (Australia) (Author), Art of the Brush - Chinese & Japanese painting calligraphy, Sydney, 1995, 14.
- Exhibition history (2)
-
Art of the brush, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 23 Sep 1995–12 Nov 1995.
Brushstrokes from Asia (1997), The Brett Whiteley Studio, 25 Jan 1997–20 Apr 1997.
