Chinese calligraphy paintings sell for record US$144 mln

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BY Unknown Monday, December 18, 2017 0

Chinese calligraphy paintings sell for record US$144 mln

A collection of 12 calligraphy landscape paintings by Chinese ink-brush master artist Qi Baishi fetched 931.5 million yuan (144 million US dollars) at a Beijing auction on Sunday night.

The price set a new global record for Chinese artworks sold at auction.

Qi created the "Twelve Landscape Screens" in 1925, each of which contains an elegant, natural scene. The paintings are framed separately in 1.8-meter long vertical frames.

Twelve Landscape Screens /Photo via people.com.cn

Qi was inspired by the natural brilliance he encountered during his extensive travels across the country, but his images are tinged with a sense of  homesickness, which he had for his native home village in central China's Hunan Province.

He later gave this painting to Chen Zilin, a friend and famous doctor in Beijing at the time. It later became part of various private collections.

The initial bidding price was set at 450 million yuan but after 57 rounds of fierce bidding, a telephone buyer ended the call with 810 million yuan, and the final price was settled at 931.5 million yuan with commission fees. The buyer's identity has not been revealed.

The price also made Qi the first Chinese artist whose work has been sold for more than 100 million US dollars at auction.

Qi Baishi (1864-1957) /Photo via wikepedia.org

Who is Qi Baishi?

Qi Baishi was born to a peasant family in Xiangtan, Hunan Province in 1864. He became a carpenter at 14 and learned to paint by himself.

He began to travel across the country at the age of 40 and settled in Beijing at 57 in 1917.

Qi is noted for the whimsical, often playful style of his watercolor works. The subjects of his paintings include almost everything: Animals, scenery, figures, toys, vegetables, and much more.

He was also good at seal carving and called himself "the rich man of three hundred stone seals."

He was elected president of the China Artists Association in 1953.

He died in Beijing in 1957 at the age of 93.

The internet just bought an 800-year-old castle in France

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BY Unknown Friday, December 08, 2017 0

The internet just bought an 800-year-old castle in France

The French castle about 200 miles away from Paris was built in the 13th century, captured twice by the English in the Middle Ages, sacked during the French Revolution, and partially burned down in 1932, the Guardianreports.

Now the internet may have saved the Chateau de la Mothe-Chandeniers. According to the BBC, which has breathtaking drone video of the castle, thousands of people have donated at least $61 each to buy a future for it.

The chateau has changed hands many times over the centuries. Most recently a math teacher tried—and failed—to restore it after purchasing it in 1981. As nature reclaimed the chateau and plants sprouted from its windows—giving it what Architectural Digestcalls "a beautiful if not eerie aesthetic"—the math teacher mused about having it demolished.

Instead, more than 9,000 people from around the world have donated more than $885,000 toward saving the Chateau de la Mothe-Chandeniers, according to a fundraising site.

While the castle's new co-owners won't get to live in it, they will have some say in the plans to restore it and the chance to be the first to visit it when it opens to the public.

Donors can also buy stock in the company being set up to run the chateau. "The idea is not just about raising the money, but getting as many people as possible to participate in saving this magical, fairytale place," the founder of the company behind the fundraiser tells the Guardian.

For anyone who's ever dreamed of being part-owner of a real-life castle, there are still more than two weeks left to donate, which you can do here.

(Italy decided to give away castles, with one little condition.)

This article originally appeared on Newser: The Internet Just Bought an 800-Year-Old Castle in France

Saudi Prince Salman revealed as buyer of Jesus $450 million paint

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BY Unknown Friday, December 08, 2017 0

Saudi Prince Salman revealed as buyer of Jesus $450 million paint

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the actual buyer of a painting of Jesus by Leonardo da Vinci that sold for a record-breaking $450 million (N162 billion) at auction last month, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

The young crown prince, known by his initials MBS, used an intermediary to buy the much-sought-after painting of Christ, “Salvator Mundi,” the newspaper reported, citing US intelligence and other unnamed sources.

The son of Saudi King Salman is seen to be progressively consolidating his power, and is the architect of a wide-ranging plan dubbed Vision 2030 to bring social and economic change to his country’s oil-dependent economy.

He is also seen as the mastermind of last month’s rounding-up of more than 200 princes, ministers and businessmen in a sweeping anti-corruption purge.

The painting — one of fewer than 20 works generally accepted as being by the Renaissance master, according to Christie’s — was bought by little-known Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, reports say.

The Journal reported that Bader was the nominal buyer, but said MBS was identified in US intelligence reports as the true owner.

“He is a proxy for MBS,” an unnamed figure in the Gulf art world told the Journal.

American officials are keeping close tabs on the crown prince, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.

On Wednesday, the Louvre Abu Dhabi announced that the record-breaking Da Vinci painting would be displayed there.

The reports come shortly after the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia announced the formation of a new military and economic committee, separate from the Gulf Cooperation Council.

In recent years, Qatar has been the biggest player in the Gulf art world, but in June, Saudi Arabia and some of its allies broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Doha, which they accuse of supporting extremist movements.

“Salvator Mundi” — dated to around 1500 — is the last known Da Vinci in the hands of a private collector. It was long believed to be a copy but was finally authenticated about a dozen years ago.