Mr. Cao, who had been writing for a long time, suddenly asked to sharpen his ink.
How dare Lao Yang be negligent.
He fetched the inkstone and rice paper almost at a sprinting speed, then opened a box in the storage compartment, thought for a moment, then held the whole thing like a dumbbell with a label that read The storage box with the word "Motte" in both Chinese and German was carried back to the study.
Many of the galleries that major artists collaborate with have endorsement contracts with painting equipment dealers.
For example, if Kazunari Sakai signed with Mashi Gallery.
The equipment, paints and brushes used in daily painting.
Especially in front of the media’s cameras, you can basically only use products from a niche art and cultural label from southern Belgium.
This is what people spend their sponsorship money on, if they are willing to dig deeper into the market’s consumption potential.
Maybe in two years there will be another "Sakai Kazunari" joint series, limited to 1,000 copies, and you can cut small leeks for a good price.
It’s not just about painting.
The bigger the artists and galleries are, the more contracts they have with various cultural companies. Dali has co-branded with a luxury jewelry maker, Takashi Murakami has a contract with Louis Vuitton, and the great painters owned by M&A can only wear watches made by Richard Mille in public.
As long as the reputation is big enough.
Basically, their basic necessities, food, clothing, housing and transportation, especially all aspects related to painting-related fields, are taken care of by commercial companies and galleries from the moment they open their eyes every day.
Cao Xuan has never signed with a gallery.
But because of this, every year on various festivals, the old man would have strange painting companies send him a dazzling array of painting supplies as gifts.
These messy things were piled up all over the house. Gu Weijing’s set of master’s painting tools was something that Mr. Cao didn’t want and was taken away by Mr. Yang to reuse and borrow flowers to offer to the Buddha.
After Lao Yang took over the job of Mr. Cao’s personal assistant.
He found that the old gentleman was not very particular about the use of pens. He could use new or old pens for whatever they wanted, and even the poorest pens could not get into Cao Xuan's hands.
But he is very particular about the quality of ink ingots and pigments.
When Cao Xuan agreed to take charge of the Shwedagon Pagoda project last year, he only made a few requirements.
This included all the ink sticks, cinnabar and other pigments used, which he had to personally inspect.
In this way, we can achieve the restoration purpose of painting as old as before and repairing as old as before.
Most of the big box in his hand was a gift from the century-old Hu Yige Ink Factory when he was invited to the Huizhou International Cultural Festival in 2012 and visited Huangshan.
Cao Xuan has always used it smoothly.
"Old man, which piece of ink from the 11th year of the Republic of China, 1953, or 1978 are you going to use today? I'd better take out the two pieces of clear ink and grind them."
Old Yang Yong seemed to be asking in ancient times, "Your Majesty, which brand will I turn over today? Which empress will I sleep with? Is there any room in the East Palace?""Is she the Empress of the West Palace?" the eunuch asked cautiously.
Lao Cao suddenly wanted to write again.
Lao Yang's excited heart trembled, and his hands were really similar. His majesty, who had no heirs for a long time, suddenly wanted to stay in the harem overnight.
Cao Xuan pondered for a moment.
There is a consensus among the circles of Chinese painting and calligraphy enthusiasts.
Whether it is sheep hair or wolf hair, even the more expensive purple hair pen or the rare rat whisker pen, as long as it is a pen peak written by the same artist with the same softness, a few hundred yuan and a few dollars will be enough. The lines drawn by the thousands of pens are all the same.
Even if Gu Tongxiang’s treasure looks like something, the old jade pen passed down from his ancestors is even better. What matters more is the emotional value of the user, not the technical value.
As for ink and paint, they are completely different concepts.
Old ink is better than new ink. , the taste is more elegant, and the writing is smoother. This is not a very puzzling scientific metaphysics issue.
First of all, there is really no comparison between the importance of ink ingots in modern society and ancient society. .
Its status has been reduced from a mainstream writing tool to a thing only used by niche art lovers.
The market is too small, and the ink factory has no intention of researching it. Good ink.
Ink production in the Ming and Qing dynasties was a highly developed industry with very segmented and refined processes.
Tobacco refining, mixing, production, drying, etc. There are large factories that specialize in each process of gold painting, and they have been doing it for many generations, and they can live a prosperous life.
The modern ink factories that do this have long since closed down. .
Secondly, it is a matter of process.
Traditional raw materials such as century-old pine roots and deer antler glue cannot be mined or added, and it is too expensive to add them. Use pine branches and gel instead
Since the 15th year of the Republic of China, Huizhou Ink Factory began to introduce a large amount of German low-cost carbon black to replace the more cumbersome tobacco refining method. Later, the ink making method in the 1980s reduced costs.
Almost all of them have caused the quality of finished ink to drop by more than one level, and also caused the market price of these old inks to rise by a big step every time we move forward. .
Of course, ancient ink that is too old will also have preservation problems.
I have heard of wealthy businessmen using inkstones from the Yuan and Ming dynasties, but I have never heard of them. Who has ever used ink blocks from the Yuan Dynasty?
The box of ink in front of Cao Xuan is worth an exaggerated amount.
But every piece is the best of the best. Those of a relatively recent vintage are also high-end and all hand-inked.
“I remember that there was an imitation of Ming Dynasty’s 18th-grade ink in the box,” Cao Xuan thought for a moment. >
Famous flower ink.
This is the traditional classic ink ingot style of the Eastern Xia Dynasty. It has appeared since the middle of the Ming Dynasty.
Ink ingots of ten, twelve or more. A set of eighteen ingots, embeddedPacked in a black lacquered gold box.
Each ink ingot is drawn by skillful craftsmen using a combination of Yang lines and bas-reliefs, plus extremely fine gold lines, such as radish, peony, Shen Ding, jasmine, etc. flowers.
It not only shows the beauty of flowers, but also adds to their splendor by using gold.
The back of the box will be decorated with cloud patterns and light grass patterns. According to the three ink cartridges of ten, twelve and eighteen, small, medium and large, the center of the ink cartridge has the words "Ten Friends of Famous Flowers", "Twelve Guests of Famous Flowers" or "Eighteen Pins of Famous Flowers" respectively written in official script.
"There are some, I should keep them below."
Hearing this, Lao Yang immediately rummaged through the storage box and found a long lacquerware Small box.
The box is not big, but it contains eighteen ink ingots. Each ink ingot is small and cute.
Only the length of your little finger, no larger than the stationery eraser used by students.
To put it bluntly.
This kind of expensive ink block has been used more for collection than for use since its production. It is often used as a souvenir for literati and doctors when visiting relatives and friends.
Cao Xuan opened the lid, picked out the ink block with the "wisteria" pattern from inside, and handed it to Lao Yang.
"After grinding, the wisteria ink gives the wisteria flowers in return, which complements each other perfectly."
"Just grind one ingot"
"One ingot is enough."< /p>
Lao Yang licked the corner of his mouth, agreed, used the inkstone to get some water, poured it into the stone inkstone, rolled up his sleeves, held the ink stick between his thumb and middle finger, and held the upper edge with his index finger. Slowly grind out the inkstone in your heart.
"What a pity."
This box of famous eighteen-grade ink is not two pieces of clear ink, but it is also produced in the early years of the Republic of China. It is older than the record.
Even if only one grade is removed, the remaining seventeen grades will not be used.
If it is released, the market price will be reduced by 40 to 50%.
What’s a pity for Lao Yang is that it’s not this ink stick.
Most of these inks used by ordinary enthusiasts are a waste of money, and writing is like burning money.
When Cao Xuan used these inks, the master matched them with good ink, a good horse with a good saddle, and the writing was like printing money.
But the old man only asked him to grind a small piece of ink.
Looking at the color, the gelatin of this old ink has been dehydrated. The ink lines are vigorous and burnt, which seems to be more beautiful. Suitable for writing calligraphy rather than drawing outlines.
In addition, Cao Xuan only asked him to grind a small ink stick, and it didn't look like he was going to draw an ink painting.
"You want to write a message for Brother Gu"
Old Yang guessed the answer.
Today is enough of a surprise. Mr. Cao’s handwriting is also very good, and it is also extremely expensive. It is only a few thousand yuan less per square foot than Mr. Qi Gong.
But in the end, painting is more meaningful.
"A seal is a seal. The Shwedagon Pagoda has already made an exception for the sake of the Bodhisattva. Paint one on the left and one on the right. What will it look like if it is spread out? Everyone will definitely think that I am colluding. market price increase. Forget it, it's time for young people. Mr. Cao smiled.
“When Qi Baishi was in his seventies, he would get up every morning and paint thirty paintings. At your age, if you are willing, you can still paint. "Lao Yang still wanted to persuade.
Even if Cao Lao painted a picture and gave it to Gu Weijing in his mind, he felt jealous and had a heart attack.< /p>
This guy has only known Cao Xuan for a few days. He, Lao Yang An, has been running around for so many years. Why doesn’t Mr. Cao want to give him a painting of Lao Yang?
The young man has a sweet mouth. , but he, Lao Yang, also licked it so carefully.
However, as an assistant, apart from these distracting thoughts, Lao Yang still hopes that the old man's artistic life can be longer.
p>
Cao Xuan stopped talking to the assistant.
He stood up, took out this year's calendar from the table, and turned to the list of artists thanked for the Shwedagon Pagoda project written in gilded fonts. The old man stretched out his fingers and gently leaned the yellowed black and white photo against the side of the calendar. /p>
Jiazi time
Two pairs of masters and disciples
Both are the teacher at the front and the disciple at the back.
History is like a cycle of reincarnation.
Teachers pass on to apprentices, and apprentices become masters. One generation goes and another generation comes, and only the soul of art is passed down from generation to generation, one after another.
Cao Xuan has a gentle look.
The Eastern Xia School has always paid attention to the sect.
The same is true for painting. Since the Jin Dynasty, it has been divided into Nanzong and He. Northern sect.
Southern sect is gentle and scattered, while northern sect is strong and cautious.
Southern sect's style is still dull and chaotic.
The southern sect tends to be free and casual, while the northern sect tends to be descriptive and focused.
The south of the Yangtze River and the north of the Yangtze River confront each other, are not convinced by each other, and want to outdo each other, even between the north and the south. The separation made the two groups look like enemies to each other.
On the surface, after the Qing Dynasty, the modern art academy system was established, which replaced the past of one gentleman leading several disciples in secret in the study. The traditional teaching method of teaching art gradually disappeared.
Even in the middle and late Republic of China, the art world was divided between the north and the south, and there were various art cliques and small groups. Regional prejudice is still an undercurrent in the interpersonal relationships of great painters.
People in the capital are aloof, while people in Lingnan are arrogant.
The atmosphere in Shanghai is exclusive and does not tolerate outsiders. /p>
The most typical representative is Mr. Baishi, the representative of northern painters in the theory of "Southern Zhang and Northern Qi". He was from Hunan and went north to Beijing. He was suppressed and excluded because of his identity. He can be called the Northern Drifter a hundred years ago. The bitter history, when Mr. Qi recalled it in his later years, he would always feel emotional about it.
To this day, Cao Xuan is still considered by many people to be the successor to Zhang Daqian.The next representative figure and leader of the Southern Painting Sect.
Since ancient times.
Seventy percent of the people who can wear this hat are leaders of the Southern Scholars. They have no official status but are proud princes in white clothes.
It is precisely because of this meaning that Tangning is so jealous of the throne under the teacher's butt.
Even many times, Cao Xuan himself has forgotten that his ancestral home is Shuntian Mansion. In a strict sense, he is actually an authentic northerner.
After the teacher passed away,
There was a great debate as to whether a northerner could be regarded as the successor of the master of the southern painting school.
Three senior friends of the teacher before his death read aloud the suicide note specially left by the teacher in front of everyone.
Mentioning this, the teacher said.
The world is ignorant. The great painters of the Northern Sect, including Dai Jin, Wu Wei, Jiang Song, Liu Songnian and others, were all born in the south, while the great painters of the Southern Sect, Zhao Qian, Guan Tong and Li Cheng, were all born in the south. They are all northerners.
Even Wang Wei, who has always been proudly regarded as the founder of the southern landscape painting school, is actually a northerner.
Although Dong Qichang is a great talent in the painting world that only emerges in a century, it is really ridiculous for him to judge the north and the south.
“The motherland should not be divided by east and west, and painting should not be divided by north and south.”
In Mr.’s mind, the geographical differences in painting methods are not necessarily based on the different birthplaces of the painters. Instead of putting people into different baskets, it is better to use the different practice methods of "Southern Zen" and "Northern Zen" in Buddhism to metaphorize and compare the two learning methods, technical characteristics and creative tendencies of landscape painting.
The so-called southern painting school is bland and solemn, and the essence of painting is free and casual. How to pay attention to painting
The first is tranquility, and the second is truth.
Listening to the sound of your heart in the depths of silence is so wonderful that painting is like life.
The wisteria flower picture that Gu Weijing handed over was more pleasing to Mr. Cao's eyes than Tang Ning's hundred flowers picture that focused more on technique. He felt that it had the true meaning of the Southern School of Painting. .
"It is not easy to polish this state of mind to be able to draw like this. My husband taught me step by step. I did not have a breakthrough in my state of mind until I was thirty years old. He was already at this level when he was eighteen years old. First, I haven’t mentioned him too much. I’m not as good as my husband when it comes to being a master.”
“That’s all, let’s praise him. This is this guy. Deserve it."
Cao Xuan let out a sigh of relief.
In a blink of an eye, thirty-eight characters were written like a dragon, written in one go.
The luminous pearl does not have to come from the Mengjin River.
The jade you hold in your hands does not need to be picked from the Kunlun Mountains.
Thousands of rocks compete for beauty, and thousands of valleys contend for beauty, but one is the only one who stands out. Please remember to collect it, the latest and fastest website is free to read without anti-theft