Upload File

expertise of the signatures of chinese modern painter t’ang ......before entering the body of our...

  • Home
  • Documents
  • Expertise of the signatures of Chinese modern painter T’ang ......Before entering the body of our topic today, we should first explain the difficulties posed by the study and authentication
11
© T’ang Haywen Archives 2016 [email protected] All images A.D.A.G.P – Paris, 2016 Page 1 of 11 Expertise of the signatures of Chinese modern painter T’ang Haywen 曾海⽂ (1927-1991) T’ang Haywen was a Chinese painter who belonged to the second generation of Chinese artists established in Paris after WWII. Born in Fujian province in 1927, he moved to Paris in 1948 where he died in 1991. I started to study his work in 1992-1993 and decided in 1994 to prepare the catalogue raisonné of his work. Before entering the body of our topic today, we should first explain the difficulties posed by the study and authentication of his works. Indeed, unlike his two well-known contemporaries in Paris, Chu Teh-Chun and Zao Wou-Ki, T’ang did not seek recognition or fortune or did not intend to restore the greatness of Chinese painting after years of upheaval in China. He simply wanted to become a painter and to live his life as he wished. So he had to escape Chinese society and morals and break free from the pressure of his family. He left for France, officially to study medicine. T’ang, unlike Chu and Zao, had not studied art under a master, but had learned calligraphy with his grand father. So once in Paris he followed some drawing lessons and taught himself how to paint with oil. His progress in the handling of this medium was fast.

Upload: others

Post on 05-Feb-2021

2 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

Report

TRANSCRIPT

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page1of11

    ExpertiseofthesignaturesofChinesemodernpainter

    T’angHaywen曾海⽂(1927-1991)

    T’angHaywenwasaChinesepainterwhobelongedtothesecondgenerationofChineseartistsestablishedinParisafterWWII.BorninFujianprovincein1927,hemovedtoParisin1948wherehediedin1991.

    Istartedtostudyhisworkin1992-1993anddecidedin1994topreparethecatalogueraisonnéofhiswork.

    Beforeenteringthebodyofourtopictoday,weshouldfirstexplainthedifficultiesposedbythestudyandauthenticationofhisworks.

    Indeed,unlikehistwowell-knowncontemporariesinParis,ChuTeh-ChunandZaoWou-Ki,T’angdidnotseekrecognitionorfortuneordidnotintendtorestorethegreatnessofChinesepaintingafteryearsofupheavalinChina.Hesimplywantedtobecomeapainterandtolivehislifeashewished.SohehadtoescapeChinesesocietyandmoralsandbreakfreefromthepressureofhisfamily.HeleftforFrance,officiallytostudymedicine.

    T’ang,unlikeChuandZao,hadnotstudiedartunderamaster,buthadlearnedcalligraphywithhisgrandfather.SoonceinParishefollowedsomedrawinglessonsandtaughthimselfhowtopaintwithoil.Hisprogressinthehandlingofthismediumwasfast.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page2of11

    Aswecansee:

    - AratherhesitantrepresentationofabridgeinParis(PontNeuf)tryingtoemulateAlbertMarquet,thenaverynicestilllife(naturemorteàlarose)alreadygivingahintonthedirectionhewastotakeinhisartisticdevelopment.

    - AsmalloilonnewspaperdisplayingadefiniteChinesefeelbutalsoechoingthehumbleandsecretambitionofPaulKlee.

    - Aself-portraitshowingafirmhandandabolduseofcolour.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page3of11

    - AnHomagetoCézannewhereT’angdelivershisownversionofthe“momentintheeyeofthepainter”.

    - Agroupofwomen–extractedfromapaintingofGauguintowhichT’angcommunicatesanalmostreligiousdimension.

    - Andfinallyanotherself-portraitinwhichT’anghashorizontallyflippedthecompositionofaself-portraitofVanGogh.

    ButtheseworkswerejustforT’angstepsinresearchandhegraduallyabandonedtheoilmediumtopaintalmostexclusivelywithinkandwatercolorsonstandardizedformats.Themostcharacteristicoftheseformatsandforwhichheisnowadaysrecognized–beingthediptychin70x100cmobtainedbytheassociationoftwosheetsof70x50cmpaperorcard.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page4of11

    T’angHaywenmadethechoiceofabsolutefreedom,asamanandasanartist;soheappearsnowadayssomewhatasanhermitpainterwhohascultivatedthevaluesofhiseccentricforefathers,suchasShitaoorBadaShanren(ChuTa).Thesecharacteristicsoffreedom,originalityandcarelessnessarewonderfulandclassicqualitiesforaChinesepainterbuttheyalsocarryconsequences:

    - Thefirstconsequenceisthatitismoredifficultforsomeonetostudyhiswork:TherewasnoeasilyavailabledocumentationonT’ang.Furthermorewhenhediedhewastemporarilydeclaredwithoutanheirandhehadnotwrittenanywill.SotheFrenchstateorderedthedispersionofhisworks.

    - Threesuccessiveauctionstookplacein92and93inanabsolutedisorderandwithoutanydocumentationwhatsoever:Nocatalogues,noimages,nolistsofworks,nodimensions,nothing.

    - Thenanotherconsequenceisthatifthemarketimprovessomepeoplewillnothesitatetopresenthisworkinamisleadingway.Forexample:adiptychhavinglostitsrightorleftsidewillbepresentedasa“mono”.Ilearnedlaterthatthiswasthecaseformanyworkssoldduringtheauctionsin92and93.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page5of11

    - Thisdisorderalsoenticedsomedealers–afterthesalesin1992&93–tocreateaso-called“studiostamp”whichinfactcreatedmoreconfusion.Itwasanhonestintentiontocreatea“provenance”butitwasalsomisleadingandnotorganizedinalegalframe.Nothingisknownabouttheconditionsofusageofthisstamp.

    Later,anumberofsmall“diptychs”byT'angandbearingthestampontheirback,appearedonthemarket.Theproblemwasthatanumberofthesewereinfacttriptychs,whichhadlosttheirthirdpart.

    SoIhadtosubstitutealogicalandscientificapproachtodisorderandconfusion.IsearchedandfinallyfoundthefamilyofT'anginChina,thenIwasabletore-establishhissuccessionlineononehandandonanotherhandIobtainedthecopyrightonhiswork.Thisgavemethepossibilitytostartprotectinglegallyandmoreefficientlyhisartisticlegacy.Istartedtoaccumulateimagesanddocumentationamongstwhich:Datedpaintings,sometimesonthefrontnearthesignature,oronthefrontandontheback,oronlyontheback,andsometimeswithinscriptionsbyT’anghimself.Icomparedandcrossreferencedthesesignaturesandinformationtowritingsandsignaturesonpostcards,oronnewyearsgreetingscards,administrativedocuments,personalrecordsandagendas,lettersexchangedwithfriendsandmostimportantlyincorrespondencemaintainedbetweenT’angandhisfamilyfromtheearly1950’stotheendofthe1980’s.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page6of11

    ThenweproducedaseriesofreferencetablesallowingustounderstandthechronologicalandscripturalevolutionofT'ang'ssignatureoveralmostfortyyears.Forme,theybecameoneofseveraltoolsfordatingtheworks.

    Sometimesthisdateisveryprecise,forexamplefortheworksappearinginT’angBoogie,anexperimentalshortfilmrealizedbyT’angandTomTamin1973.

    Sometimesthedateisapproximateandquiteoftentheworksdonotbearanysignatureorconvincinginscriptionontheirback.ForthesewepartlyreliedonthetypesofpapersthatT'angusedtopaint.T'angusedthreemaincategoriesofpapersupports:-Japanesepapers-Varioustypesofpapersorcardsmadewithwoodpulp-ThenafewyearsbeforehisdeathhestartedtopaintonragpaperssuchaspapersoftheArchesbrand

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page7of11

    ThemostsignificantpartofhisoeuvrewaspaintedonwoodpulppapersoftheKyro,Aanaköskiandotherbrands.Thesepapersarenotintendedtobeusedbyartistsbuttheyarecheapandeachsheethasanabsorbentside,whichsuitedT'angperfectly.Wefoundoutthatthesepapersoftencarriedaproductiondate,whichwasthencomparedtoanotherworkwithasuredate;thereforeitwasthenpossibletodatetheseworks.Thiscrossreferencingmethodfirstlyrevealedthatanumberofa-typicalsignaturescannotbeintegratedintheevolutionofthesignatureandalsothattheyarequitesimilartoeachothereventhoughtheyaresometimesappliedtoworksprobablypainted15or20yearsapart.

    T’ang’ssignaturecombinesRomanlettersandChinesecharactersinaverypersonalway,sothestudyoftheRomanandcalligraphicpartsofhissignaturequicklyallowedustosuspecttheexistenceofforgedsignatures.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page8of11

    InordertoconfirmorrefutemyfindingsIconsultedanaccomplishedFrenchhandwritingexpert,Mrs.SuzanneSchmitt,whoproduceda“technicalreportonsignaturescomparison”showingclearlytheexistenceofapocryphalsignaturesofT’angHaywen.Apocryphalmeans“obscure”or“ofdoubtfulauthenticity”andbyextensionitdoesalsomean“appliedafterthedeath”.Itisthensafetosaythatanapocryphalsignatureisaforgedsignature.ThenIn2014,ImadetheacquaintanceofDr.JaapBoonandunderstoodthathismany“artisticdetective”skillsandcraftswoulddefinitelycontributetomyresearch.TheuseoftheHiroxmicroscopeallowedustomakeconsistentobservationspinpointingmanyfundamentaldifferencesbetweenauthenticandapocryphalsignatures.Herearefive:

    1- Thecontinuity&consistencyofmovementbetweenRomanlettersandChinesecharactersIntheauthenticsignaturesthereisafreeandcontinuousflowfromtheromanletterstotheChinesecharacters.Theapocryphalsignaturesshowaninterruptionintheflowandaclearseparationbetweenbothparts.

    2- Thepositionof“’ang”inrelationwiththebaseoftheT“’ang”isoffsetfromthebaseoftheT,whichisconsistentwiththecalligraphy.IntheapocryphalsignaturesT'angiswrittendirectlyonaninvisiblehorizontallinebasedontheT,justaswelearntodothisintheWesternschoolsystem.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page9of11

    3- Thepausetobeobservedonthetoppartof

    “hay”Thecharacter"Hay"tracedincursivescriptcallsforastoponitstoppartbeforethetracingofthesecondpartofthecharacter.Theapocryphalsignaturesignorethatstopandsimplyshowacurvingoftheline.

    4-Thecorrectwritingof“wen”Thecharacter“wen”mustbearadotonitstopinordertomean-literature-asinT'angHaywen.Withoutthisdotitmeans“again”or“repeat”.

    5-Thegeneralsilhouetteandmovementofthesignature

    Intheauthenticsignaturethegeneralsilhouetteshowsbalanceandcomplementaritybetweenitselements.Forexampletheattackoftheunderline,belowT'ang,initiatesamovementfromlefttoright.Apocryphalsignaturesareanassemblyofnon-integratedelements,whichdonotbelongtothesignatureasawhole.Theauthenticsignaturesfunctionasawholemadeofcomplementaryandinseparableforces.

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page10of11

    TheHiroxmicroscopealsoallowedustoresolvewhatappearedtobeaninconsistency.IndeedinasmallpaintingofT’angalineapparentlyoftheartist'shandappearstobepassingoveranapocryphalsignature.

    TheseobservationsusingtheHiroxallowedustounderstandthatinfacttheredlinewasgoingovertheblackinkbutthattheinteractionsbetweenthepaper,theinkandtheredwatercolorcreatedthisillusion.

    T'angwasChineseandcalligraphywastheessentialtechnicalmeanofdevelopmentofhiswork.Thepointsmentionedaboveshowthisparticularforger’signoranceoftheChineselanguageandwritingconventions.Henevercanfullycontrolthebrushorovercomethemainobstacleofhisownpersonality.Recentlynewtypesoffakesignaturesappeared,someprobablyexecutedbyaChinesepersonandonanartificiallyagedpaper.Buttheseattemptswereinfactquiteclumsy.Thestudyofthesignatureandthediscussionaboutitsauthenticityleadsnaturallytoquestionsabouttheauthenticityoftheworksthemselves.Wehavedefinedotheravenuesofresearch,theyarealsobasedonobservationorscientificresearchandamixofboth.

    Thepossibilitytodatetheworksandtheirdocumentationmakespossiblethestudyofstylesandtheirevolution.Whentheforgerthinksthathehasapplieda“good”signatureonanauthenticpaintinghemayconsiderproducingentirely“good”paintings.Atthisstagetheveryattitudeoftheartist-whocreatedamazeforhiswork-becomesanassetindetectingforgeriesforapersonwhohaslongstudied,documentedhisworkandunderstooditslogic.Fortheforgerthislogicisinaccessible.Toconcludeweshouldmentionthataworkonpaper,evenanauthenticonebythehandoftheartist,butbearingafakesignature,islegallyaforgery.Furthermoreitisverydifficulttoeraseafakesignature,appliedyearsagowithwatercoloronpaper.ThisisparticularlytrueinthecaseofT'angwhosesignature,whenexisting,isoftenapartofthecomposition.Insuchcaseerasingafakesignatureisequivalenttoasecondmutilation.InNovemberlastyear,inNewYork,IhadaconversationonthetopicofthecatalogueraisonnéwithSuziVilligeroftheCRSAandatsomepointinourconversationshetoldme“youknowPhilippe,beingtheeditorofacatalogueraisonnéisathanklessjobbutsomebodyhastodoit.”

  • ©T’angHaywenArchives2016info@tanghaywenarchives.comAllimagesA.D.A.G.P–Paris,2016 Page11of11

    Since1994andafterdecidingtopreparethiscatalogueraisonné,Ihadtheopportunityonmorethanoneoccasiontoverifythisobservation.NeverthelessIbelievethattheonlyobligationoftheauthororeditorofacatalogueraisonnéisinrelationwiththeoeuvreoftheartist.ThismayseemabitcoldorimpersonalsincetheartistisoftendeadwhenthishappensbutIpersonallycametodevelopapassionforexactitudethatIcanonlyputasidewhenIdiscoverapainting,unknownuntilthemomentIamallowedtocontemplateit,firstlyasanobjectofbeautyandsecondlyasafractionofthecreativejourneyofawonderfulartist.PhilippeKoutouzis


Painter® Essentials 7 クイック スタート ガイドproduct.corel.com/help/Painter-Essentials/540223061/Main/... · 2019-10-04 · Corel Painter Essentials 7 | 3 Corel Painter

Claude Monet (1840 – 1926) Painter (1840 – 1926) Painter

Paul Jackson Pollock Painter 1912–1956 Painter 1912–1956

Automotive Painter

Corel® Painter® Installation Guideproduct.corel.com/help/Painter/540219480/Main/EN/... · Corel® Painter® Installation Guide The Corel® Painter® Installation Guide documents

Romanian Painter

Corel Painter 2018 Reviewer's Guide (Letter)software.onthehub.com/documentation/Corel/Corel Painter... · 2017. 7. 4. · Introducing Corel® Painter® 2018 Corel® Painter® 2018

Night painter

Report Painter

Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917) Painter (1834 – 1917) Painter

Rembrandt (1606 – 1969) Painter & Printmaker (1606 – 1969) Painter & Printmaker

T’ANG HANEDANLIĞININ BÜYÜK TÜRK GENERALİ PU-KU HUAİ …

Georgia OKeeffe (1887 – 1986) Painter (1887 – 1986) Painter

Berlin Painter: Volute Krater 500-480BC Potter: Unknown Painter: Berlin Painter

Filipino Painter

T’ang Studies Society Workshop on the China Biographical Database Harvard University August 22-23, 2013 Sponsored by the T’ang Studies Society China Biographical

GEOPHYSICAL INVERSE THEORY AND REGULARIZATION PROBLEMS · 2.2 Formulation of well-posed and ill-posed problems 32 2.2.1 Well-posed problems 32 2.2.2 Conditionally well-posed problems

Screen Painter

Achilles Painter

Painter Printmaker Printmaker Painter

Stable explicit time marching in well-posed or ill-posed ...NISTIR 8027 . Stable Explicit Time Marching in Well-Posed or Ill-Posed Nonlinear Parabolic Equations . Alfred S. Carasso

Sandro Botticelli Painter 1445 – 1510 Painter 1445 – 1510

EINFÜHRUNG IN PAINTER 2018 - product.corel.comproduct.corel.com/help/Painter/540213829/Main/DE/Quick-Start-Guide/... · Corel Painter 2018 | 3 Corel Painter 2018 Corel® Painter®

lü) from the Han to the T’ang : A Contribution to the

Rembrandt painter

TThe painter he painter pphysicianhysician

Andy painter

Einführung in Painter 2016product.corel.com/help/Painter/540225791/Main/DE/Quick-Start-Guide/... · Corel Painter 2016 | 1 Corel Painter 2016 Corel® Painter® 2016 ist das ultimative

Australia Map - Melway, Sydway, Brisway, Ausway, Street ...€¦ · Painter Peppermint Grove Painter Claremont Painter Fremantle Painter North Perth Painter Leederville Upholstery

Flora Painter

I.K.Aivazovsky Painter

The T’ang and Sung Dynasties

Flame Painter Manual - Escape Motions · Flame Painter Manual v.3.2 Personal | Professional Introduction Welcome to Flame Painter. Flame Painter is a unique paint application that

Achilles painter Lekythos. NAME: Achilles painter Lekythos MADE: 450-440BC SIZE: 38cm POTTER: not known PAINTER: The Achilles painter WE DON’T

Manuale per Flame Painter - Escape Motions · Manuale per Flame Painter v.3.2 Personal | Professional Introduzione Benvenuti in Flame Painter. Flame Painter è una straordinaria applicazione