A set of two Bapo/Jinhuidui paintings, ink and colour on paper, China, 20th century.
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With two seals in red. Calligraphy. Chinese Trompe-I'oeil Painting. Measure motif 41x87 cm. Measure haning. 54x164 cm.
Stains, creases, wear.
Provenance
Property of a private Swedish Collector.
Exhibitions
Compare with lot 8003, sold at Bonhams, New York, Twentieth Century Chinese Painting and Calligraphy. 11 September 2017.
A set of four bapo paintings is in the collection of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Berlin.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is exploring this compelling genre in China's 8 Brokens: Puzzles of the Treasured Past, an they had an exhibition about the theme in 2017.
Literature
See also:
Nancy Berliner, "The 'Eight Brokens', Chinese Trompe-l'oeil Painting", Orientations February 1992, pp. 61-66
Nancy Berliner, "Questions of Authorship in 'Bapo': Trompe l'oeil in Twentieth-century Shanghai," Apollo March 1998, pp. 17-22
More information
Bapo 八破 (literally 'eight-brokens') or jinhuidui 錦灰堆 (literally 'a pile of brocade and ashes') is a fascinating genre of Chinese painting that emerged in the late Qing and was popular in the early 20th century. Using trompe-l'oeil techniques, artists carefully created seemingly random collages of two dimensional images, including fragments of paintings, book pages, calligraphic rubbings, letters and ephemeral scraps.
The subject matter of these paintings bear a humble countenance--they are folded and torn, burnt or scarred. However a closer examination of the individual elements reveals the artist's deep understanding of the traditions of calligraphy and painting.