Compared with ancient calligraphy, the identification of modern calligraphy is both difficult and easy. The so-called difficulty is mainly due to the outstanding personality, different styles and various schools of modern calligraphy. The so-called Yi, after all, modern calligraphers are closer to our times, and the reliability of their data comparison and appraisal is much easier than that of ancient calligraphers.
The identification of modern calligraphy can mainly be started from three aspects: first, we should understand the artistic style, artistic genre and artistic characteristics of modern calligraphy; Second, we should master the calligraphy structure and pen characteristics of calligraphers represented by regions and groups; Third, we should be familiar with the forms and identification methods of modern calligraphy forgery.
First, understand the artistic style, genre and characteristics of modern calligraphy.
The development of modern calligraphy is closely related to the development of history, politics and academic atmosphere. There are different artistic tendencies in different periods and regions, and many artistic schools have emerged.
Modern calligraphy directly inherits the charm of the Qing Dynasty and has its own characteristics. His book style mainly includes three aspects: First, the female book style in the Republic of China. Second, the calligraphy style of combining seal cutting with calligraphy. Third, the style of painting and calligraphy.
(A) the writing style of women in the Republic of China
The calligraphy style in the early years of the Republic of China was influenced by Ming and Qing calligraphy. Calligraphers follow the ancient calligraphy style of Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han and Wei dynasties and pay attention to the research and textual research of ancient characters. Oracle Bone Inscriptions, rubbings, portraits and Han bamboo slips are all valued by calligraphers. Most calligraphers in this period paid equal attention to inscriptions, learning seal, official, truth, line and grass. The rise of calligraphy education and the increase of calligraphy organization and activities promoted the popularization of calligraphy and the development of calligraphy art. The outstanding calligraphers in this period were Yang Shoujing, Kang Youwei, Wu Changshuo and Shen. Generally speaking, his artistic achievements are difficult to surpass those of his predecessors. But as far as the development trend of the times is concerned, the breadth of calligraphy and the novelty of calligraphy style are better than those of the previous generation.
In the middle of the Republic of China, there were new developments and changes. After long-term artistic practice and theoretical discussion, calligraphers have adopted an eclectic attitude towards inscriptions, and the active calligraphy atmosphere and changeable style have accelerated the pace of calligraphy modernization. At this time, the book world presents a situation with many faces, different book styles and a large number of famous artists. Among them, Zheng, a master of inscriptions and calligraphy, Wu Jingheng, a master of four-body, Ma, Zhang Taiyan, a master of calligraphy, and Yu Youren. Among them, Zhang Taiyan and Yu Youren made the most outstanding achievements and made outstanding contributions in popularizing Cao Zhang and standard cursive script.
The calligraphy style in the Republic of China was generally feminine. In the early Qing Dynasty, Dong Qichang and Zhao Mengfu's calligraphy was highly respected in the calligraphy field, with soft and delicate styles as the mainstream. On the other hand, the powerful inscription movement, which opposes the softness and delicacy of the postscript after the Millennium, has become strong, ugly, fragmented and straightforward. The return of calligraphy research is a prominent feature of calligraphy in the Republic of China, so the dominant calligraphy style in the Republic of China tends to be feminine.
(B) seal cutting and calligraphy into one calligraphy style
In the modern calligraphy world, there are also a group of calligraphers who are good at seal cutting and epigraphy and have made remarkable achievements in calligraphy. Most of them integrate seal cutting and calligraphy. Influenced by "Zhejiang School" and "Huizhou School", modern seal cutting technology can combine the advantages of Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Wen Tao, Zhong Ding and seals, and change their ways. The calligraphy art of seal engravers not only shows superb artistic level and strong national flavor, but also shows its own advantages. (1) They absorbed nutrition from a large number of materials such as Oracle Bone Inscriptions, Ni Feng, Zhong Ding, Jinwen, Wen Tao, etc., and organically applied them to the practice of calligraphy creation. Most of these calligraphers know everything, especially seal characters and inscriptions on bronze. His books have a strong charm of stone and stone, showing simple, rich, pure and elegant style characteristics. The representative calligraphers are Luo Zhenyu, Zhu Fukan and Lai Chusheng.
(3) Style of calligraphy and painting.
Among modern calligraphers, there are also some calligraphers who are good at painting. They not only made outstanding achievements in painting, but also had profound attainments in calligraphy. This kind of calligraphers take calligraphy as the basic skill of painting, and their calligraphy pays more attention to freehand brushwork, which is different from ordinary calligraphers in brushwork and structural layout. Pay attention to the internal quality of strokes, and pay attention to the changes of bone strokes and lines. In the arrangement of structure and composition, it doesn't pay much attention to statutes, so its book style is strewn at random, strewn at random, frank and natural, elegant and heavy, showing strong characteristics of the times. The representative calligraphers are Huang, Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian and Lu. Among them, the achievements of Huang and Qi Baishi are the most outstanding.
Second, master the calligraphy structure and pen characteristics of calligraphers represented by regions and groups.
There are many schools of modern calligraphy, and there are many schools, and famous artists come forth in large numbers. In addition to understanding the artistic style and genre of modern calligraphy, we should also master the calligraphy structure and pen characteristics of representative calligraphers in different periods, regions and groups. Starting with these representative calligraphers, we can draw an outline and draw inferences from others as a reference to identify the authenticity of other calligraphers' works.
There are outstanding representative calligraphers in different periods of modern calligraphy. The most influential calligraphers in the early years of the Republic of China were Zheng, Luo Zhenyu, Liang Qichao and Tan. In the middle of the Republic of China, Zhang Taiyan and Yu Youren were the representative calligraphers; Among the representative calligraphers who combined seal cutting with calligraphy, Zhao Shuru, Wang Fuguang and Zhu Fukan had the greatest influence. Huang and Qi Baishi are two of the most remarkable calligraphers in the integration of painting and calligraphy.
Third, be familiar with the forms and identification methods of modern calligraphy fakes.
There are many ways to falsify modern calligraphy. In addition to using high technology, such as putting the original on the wall with a high-powered physical projector and a fine-focus slide projector, and then asking someone to paint it as a fake, more often, some children of deceased famous artists or some private disciples are invited to fake it. These people are generally familiar with the characteristics of the imitated object, such as calligraphy style, calligraphy style and brushwork. Art dealers pay a certain price and ask forgers to copy them. There are several of them, batch by batch, and then seal the rest. If there is no seal, the seal on high-definition publications or original works is usually made of zinc plate, and some are made of computer, and then a bell is covered after processing. Compared with painting, it is rare for calligraphy works to use woodcut watermarks as fakes or publications as fakes, mainly because woodcut watermarks require considerable cost and are not economically feasible. Moreover, calligraphy works are relatively easier to distinguish authenticity than painting works.
The forgery of modern calligraphy has obvious regional forgery characteristics. For example, most of Qi Baishi's and Xu Beihong's pseudographs come from Beijing; Sha Menghai and Lu's forgeries are mostly from Hangzhou, while, and Shen's forgeries are mostly from Shanghai. Some famous forgeries of calligraphy have spread all over the country, such as Huang, Yu Youren, Zhang Daqian and Zhang Taiyan. Their imitations have spread all over Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and even Guangzhou and Hainan.
Generally speaking, the identification of traditional calligraphy works is more complicated than painting works, and its line operation, composition layout, brushwork and seal characteristics sometimes make appraisers unable to start. The identification of modern calligraphy works is easier than painting works, mainly because modern calligraphers are close to us. Although there are many people, they are much less than the ancients, and they are all concentrated in a very short time. It is easier to find its original work and compare it with related materials; Moreover, the level of counterfeiters is much worse than that of the ancients, and there is also a gap in pen and ink skills and learning outside books.
The methods of identification can be summarized as follows: 1. Understand the calligraphy characteristics, pen habits, personality characteristics and origins of each representative calligrapher. The second is to understand the methods and forms of forgery in various regions and calligraphers. Third, appraisers must learn calligraphy by themselves and understand the general techniques and aesthetic characteristics of calligraphy.
In the specific appraisal, we should pay attention to any works with abrupt brushwork, dark pen and ink, messy structure, poor charm, unreasonable spirit and impure breath. When using a pen, we should pay more attention to whether the starting, closing and turning points of picking, hooking, skimming and pressing are natural and reasonable, whether the pen is hidden, whether it is square and round, whether the ink is dark and dry, and whether the words are tight and dense, especially the first and last two words. In composition, we should pay attention to the relationship between adjacent words, whether the distance between lines and vertical lines is comfortable and appropriate, and whether the layout of the whole text is harmonious and unified. In addition, the relationship and essential difference between forgers and forgers should be clarified in order to make identification reference.
References:
① Appraisal and Collection of Calligraphy and Painting, Shanghai People's Fine Arts Publishing House, first edition, March 2006, p. 224.