Shen Zhou is not only Wen Zhengming's master, but also Zhu Zhishan and Tang Bohu's master.
He taught three of the four great talents in the south of the Yangtze River, and he was even more impressive than Zhou Chen.
Shen Zhou's works are also very valuable. A set of "Send Pictures and Inscriptions to Wu Wending" once sold for 148 million.
The scroll on the stage was quite large. He Ren made a rough estimate and found that it should be nine square feet, divided into three parts, each scroll three square feet.
Landscapes, trees and rocks, wind pavilions and pavilions, waterfalls, smoke and clouds, small bridges and wild boats, all have their own shapes... The mountains and rocks are light and dyed, the brushwork is vigorous and vigorous, the thick ink is dotted with moss, and the painting frame is clear and green. It is indeed Shen Zhou's style.
The first part is "Shen Shitian's Autumn Mountain Picture", followed by "Deng Erya Seal Script" and Deng Er's seal.
What makes He Ren a little embarrassed is that he doesn't know Deng Er...
But Shen Shitian knew that it was Shen Zhou. On the third scroll, He Ren also saw Shen Zhou's seal and wrote the words "Ishida Shen Zhou, Dingsi Mid-Autumn Festival".
The lines of these eight characters are sharp and sharp, the middle palace is tightened and the four dimensions are open, which conforms to the characteristics of "long strokes and big strokes" and is very similar to Shen Zhou's style in his later years.
The year is also right. Dingsi Mid-Autumn Festival, according to a sixty-year cycle, happens to be the year when Shen Zhou turned seventy.
There is definitely no problem with the identification and seal, and it is undoubtedly Shen Zhou.
This time it was Chen Zheng's turn to be excited, "Old Xu, you just picked up a leak, so you can't take this painting away from me. Brother He, is this authentic?"
He Ren explained his analysis, and Chen Zheng became even more excited. In his opinion, if there was no problem with the recognition and seal, then there must be no problem. Who cares who Deng Er is?
He Ren quickly stopped Chen Zheng, appraising calligraphy and painting could not be so simple. Seals are the easiest to forge, especially stamped ones. It is much easier to copy a few words than to copy an entire painting...
Chen Zheng didn't take it seriously, "Look slowly, I'll take pictures first... 1.5 million."
He Ren was speechless, but he couldn't refuse. If this "Autumn Mountain Picture" is really a fake, it will have an impact on He Ren's reputation if word spreads about it. After all, he is now considered an expert invited by Chen Zheng.
Taking a closer look, He Ren really saw something wrong.
There is no doubt that Shen Zhou was best at landscapes, but his painting skills were not formed in one go, but rather a process.
In the early days, Shen Zhou's landscape paintings were mainly made with fine brushstrokes. After the age of 40, he drew on the strengths of others, and his style gradually became rough and his brushstrokes became thicker.
After the age of sixty, he integrated Wu Zhen's changeable brushwork, Wang Meng's fineness and richness of painting style, and Huang Gongwang's majestic and unrestrained brushwork, forming a sophisticated, rich and green landscape painting artistic style.
In his later years, Shen Zhou's writing style was steady, thick and concise, moist and vast, vigorous and solid. He emphasized a balance between hardness and softness, and was also called "rough and heavy" by many experts and scholars.
The problem lies here. Shen Zhou's previous inscription had "Dingsi Mid-Autumn Festival", which indicates that he wrote it when he was seventy years old, but the style of the painting is not that of Shen Zhou in his mature period.
The brush strokes of the mountains and rivers are indeed very thick and majestic, but upon closer inspection, I found that they lacked a bit of momentum, and even though they were there, they were not soft enough.
More like Shen Zhou's style in his middle age...
No... He Ren looked at it carefully and found that the first two scrolls were not soft enough. The third scroll only had a few mountain peaks and a few pine trees, but it was a combination of hardness and softness, much like Shen Zhou's style.
How is this going?
Depend on!
As soon as He Ren patted Xu Qingjie's thigh, he thought of a word - ghostwriting!
That makes sense.
The whole painting is divided into three parts. The first two parts were ghostwritten by one person, imitating Shen Zhou's style. This person may not be skilled enough to imitate the charm of Shen Zhou in his later years.
It was precisely because of this that Shen Zhou painted another half of the painting, and the style was inconsistent.
With this conclusion in mind, when He Ren looked at this painting again, he felt awkward no matter how he looked at it.
"Five million." Chen Zheng raised the sign again, then glanced at He Ren, "Brother He, did you see it?"
"Um……"
He Ren explained his analysis, and Chen Zheng frowned and said, "In other words, only the last bit was painted by Shen Zhou himself?"
"Probably."
Xu Qingjie didn't bother to ask He Ren why he patted his thigh, and asked, "Then why did he do this? And why did he find a ghostwriter? Like Wen Zhengming, he wanted to be a good person?"
He Ren was happy, "Shen Zhou is indeed a kind man, and he often stamps people who copy, but ghostwriting is normal, and many painters do this."
"A lot of people do this?"
"That's right, a famous painter like Shen Zhou would definitely not be able to handle the number of people asking for paintings. Sometimes he would find someone to do it for him. Generally speaking, even if he is a ghostwriter, the painter himself will add a few strokes. Or the last color, etc., there are not too many self-titled models, a bit like the current co-branded models.”
"So is this painting real or fake?"
"Strictly speaking, it's not a fake, but it's not a genuine product either. The price must be lower."
"Not worth five million?"
"That's the price."
At this time, someone had already increased the price to six million, and it was the big-mouthed monkey again. Chen Zheng smiled slightly and started to raise the price again...
Zhang Nuo complained in a low voice, "I don't think this auction is very interesting. There are no genuine items."
"You can't say that." He Ren saw through the mystery of Shen Zhou's ghostwriting and felt full of accomplishment. "Where can I find so many authentic paintings now? This level is already considered good. If calculated according to the authenticity, Shen Zhou's paintings are all Now that it has appeared, what else will appear next? Mi Fu’s calligraphy and painting?"
A few people chatted happily, but Chen Zheng's face didn't look good. He failed to raise the price this time. When the price reached 7 million, the big-mouthed monkey stopped...
He Ren consoled him, "Mr. Chen, you can hype it up a bit, and you may not be able to sell it for seven million."
"Oh?" Chen Zheng's eyes narrowed, "How to hype it up? You want me to lie to people and say it's true?"
"It's okay, but it's not necessary, right? Mr. Chen doesn't seem to be short of money."
Chen Zheng's face softened a little, "Then tell me how to promote it?"
"For example, tell the truth about this painting, and then destroy the first two parts of the painting, leaving only the last half of Shen Zhou's painting and the inscription on it, and wait another two years..."
"Forget it, it's not troublesome enough." Chen Zheng waved his hand, "I'm giving it away anyway, as long as some of it is authentic."
He Ren shrugged and didn't continue talking. He just fulfilled his duty. Whether Chen Zheng wanted to hear it or not, he had already decided to stay away from this person in the future. In this comparison, Xu Qingjie was cuter...
While talking, the beautiful host came on stage again, "The following is the last auction item today, please..."
"The last one?"
He Ren was startled. He didn't expect that there would be an auction, and it would be a painting and calligraphy auction. In the end, there would only be five items on the lot.
"I hope it will be a piece of calligraphy in the end. I'm tired of looking at paintings."
Before He Ren finished speaking, the host had already taken out a scroll from the brocade box. He Ren was discouraged as soon as he saw it. It was silk, and it seemed that it was another painting...
