Orchid and Angelica Dahurica (Lan Zhi)

Ding Yanyong, a pioneering Chinese artist who studied in Japan, was acclaimed as the “Modern Bada Shanren (Zhu Da)” and the “Eastern Matisse.” He freely navigated various media, including oil painting, ink wash painting, seal carving. He is strikingly simple and exaggerated imagery, forming a unique style that “bridges the East and the West, playing with the ancient and the modern.” Ding Yanyong was naturally eccentric and obsessed with painting deities and ghosts, thus his works often exuded a mysterious aura that drifted between humans and gods. Orchid and Angelica Dahurica (Lan Zhi) was a work from the peak period of his late career, featuring masterful brushstrokes that balanced strength and gentleness, with vivid and dynamic colors. The artist abandoned the depiction of the vessel and roots, making the orchids appear to float in a void, drifting without support, subtly reflecting his state of mind then. In the tradition of the Chu Ci, orchid and Angelica dahurica were associated with the image of the “Wu (shaman)” symbolizing a noble character and a spiritual connection with the heaven and earth. Ding Yanyong once gifted this painting to a disciple, which did not only convey his hope for a noble character but also a spiritual bequest.