Author:​Wang Ting-chin

Size:Length:221 x Width:86 (cm)

Size description：135×67 (畫心)

Introduction：​Wang Ting-chin (1917-1995), courtesy name Hsi-Pai, was originally from Chinchou, Guangdong Province, born in Peihai, Hopu. He also went by the pseudonyms Master of Huanchu Tower, Shihwan Hermit, and Master of Shihlin Pavilion. Hailing from a prominent family in central Guangdong, his father, Wang Yao-Chuan, was renowned for his poetry and prose, while his uncle, Wang Shih-Tsung, served as a short-term position in the Hanlin Academy during the late Qing Dynasty, indicating a rich scholarly heritage. In his youth, Wang studied the classics under local scholar Hsueh Hsiao-Tien and practiced painting the Four Gentlemen (plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum). After entering formal schooling, he began learning Western painting techniques. Following the war, he relocated to Taiwan, where he studied landscape painting under Huang Chun-Pi. In Kaohsiung, he established the Huanchulou Art Studio to promote art. He served as the first director of the Hai Tien Art Studio (founded in 1961), Kaohsiung’s earliest traditional Chinese painting group, and as the inaugural chairman of the Kaohsiung Chinese Calligraphy and Painting Society (established in 1964). His publications include “An Overview of Plum Blossom Painting” and “The Characteristics of Chinese Painting.” Wang held numerous solo exhibitions in Taiwan, and his works were selected for touring exhibitions in the United States, Japan, Germany, and South Korea.

Wang Ting-Chin excelled in painting landscapes, flowers, ink plum blossoms, and birds, and was also proficient in calligraphy, mastering various scripts such as hsing, kai, chuan, and li. His portfolio indicates frequent sketching trips to Taiwan’s mountainous regions, including Alishan, Chilai Mountain, and the Southern Cross-Island Highway. Additionally, Wang created multiple depictions of the Chia-ling River. In another work titled “By the Chialing River,” the composition and scenery are strikingly similar, though the inscriptions differ notably. The moist, dense ink dots present in this piece also appear in Wang's other landscape works portraying rainy and spring scenes.

In this artwork, the artist employs rich and substantial brushwork to depict the misty, rainy scenery along the banks of the Chia-ling River. Clusters of trees, regardless of distance, are rendered with heavy ink dots to convey the dense moisture in the air. The river surface in the middle ground is left blank, guiding the viewer’s gaze toward the distant mountain peaks. Boats moored by the riverbank and nearby houses provide a slight respite from the accumulation of ink dots, balancing the composition.

Accession number:PT06904900