59 a.Lin Sanzhi (1898-1989)
Calligraphy
undated
pair of hanging scrolls, ink on paper
each 129.5 x 31. cm
Jiangsu Provincial Art Gallery, Nanjing
Lin Sanzhi, a native of Wujiang, Anhui, who was particularly accomplished
in the art of cursive script calligraphy, was important in the tiexue,
or classical calligraphy, revival. Although he studied the primitive stele
scripts that were fashionable when he was young, he later went back to the
tiexue style. The highly skilled semi-cursive characters in this Five
Character Couplet possess the asymmetry, grace, and fluid curves of
the tiexue tradition, but in their sparseness of composition, energetic
execution, and scratchy ink create an appealing illusion of naivete.