CHINESE PAINTING AND CALLIGRAPHY
-Reference Book on Connoisseurship and Valuation
Wei Yang’s Guide to Chinese Painting and Calligraphy (2 volumes, Nankai University Press, 2022) is now the standard reference for the appreciation and appraisal of Chinese painting and calligraphy prior to 1911. Focusing on connoisseurship, art criticism, valuation criteria and market trends, it discusses issues fundamental to the identification, dating, ranking and authenticity of classical Chinese fine art. It provides original, workable guidelines for valuing classical Chinese painting and calligraphy. General topics include medium, format, painting techniques, classical scripts, inscriptions, seals and market trends. Most of the book covers biographies and artistic analysis, in chronological format, of 293 leading painters and their representative paintings. For each artist, the author explains their style, subject matter and evolution over time, as well as market appreciation and recent sales results.
Overall, this guide aims to remove the mystery from understanding and appraising classical Chinese painting and calligraphy and to guide the reader through a comprehensible system of professional judgment.
This is the only reference you need if you wish to:
1) develop a competent expertise in classical Chinese painting and calligraphy;
2) learn Chinese art traditions, visual aesthetics, craftsmanship and connoisseurship, as well as the evaluation methodlogies from the perspective of a trained Chinese art historian;
3) master the qualitative ranking criterion in the appraisal of classical Chinese fine arts;
find immediate references on an important Chinese painter of different dynasties, such as biography, artistic affiliation, important works, signature and seal styles and forgery issues.
Topics introduced in the book may not answer every question you have concerning a credible evaluation of a classcial Chinese painting and calligraphy,they will certainly form a solid foundation for advancing your expertise, sharpening your newly minted unique skills to the appraisal of modern and contemporary Chinese painting and calligrapny, or serving as an effective Chinese art expert witness
Buy Direct from Author: Email contact@weiyangart.com OR Available at Amazon.
MEMOIR
-A Real-Life Story of Courage
Wei Yang’s memoir (in Chinese), Desert Bloom (Shazaohua de gushi) 沙棗花的故事 (Beijing Publishing House, 2021), is a heart-warming testament to the amazing people who made possible her journey from the difficulties of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) to a career in China, education abroad, and new achievements in the United States. Like others, Wei Yang faced many challenges, beginning with failure in the college entrance exam when she was 16. But owing to the love and support of others, she built a career in art education in China, earned degrees and honors abroad, worked in academia, and founded a successful art appraisal practice in America. This book offers beautifully-drawn vignettes of family devotion, kindness of friends and support from mentors—in many walks of life and from many cultures.
To Order: Email contact@weiyangart.com OR visit www.amazon.com.
ARTICLE: FIVE MISTAKES
-"Five Mistakes in Appraising Premodern Chinese Paintings," ARM E-Journal 5, no. 1 (2021): 58-62.
Abstract: This article discusses the complexities of traditional Chinese painting, cultural traditions and visual aesthetics. It comments on how to avoid the five most serious errors in assessing the value of classical Chinese paintings. Some of these problems are particular to Chinese painting, but most crop up in other forms of valuation.