Bird perched on a rock, painting on paper, signed Zhang Daqian (張大千, Chang Dai-chien, 1899-1982), dated 乙已 (yisi, corresponding to the year of the wooden snake, 1965), bearing a dedication to Li Ai Vee (李爱维, 1932-2021), signed 大千居士 爰 (Daqian jushi Yuan), seals 大千居士 (Daqian jushi) and 張爰之印信 (Zhang Yuan zhi yinxin), 93.5x42.5 cm (painting)

Provenance: collection of Li Ai Vee (1932-2021), former student of Zhang Daqian, chalet Yu-Lan

石上之鳥, 紙本設色, 93.5x42.5 厘米

張大千（1899–1982) 署名

乙巳年 (1965)

題贈李愛薇

大千居士 爰署名

張爰之印信 鈐印, 大千居士鈐印

來自李愛維收藏 (1932-2021), 玉蘭木屋

The collection of Li Ai Vee

Piguet auction house is honoured to present the last part of the collection of Li Ai Vee ( 李 爱维 , born Eva Anita Li, 1932-2021), a Chinese-German painter living in Switzerland and a fervent collector of Asian art, mainly Chinese and Japanese.

Born in Shanghai, Li Ai Vee was introduced to painting as a child by her mother, herself an artist, and went on to become a pupil of prestigious painters such as Lin Fengmian (1900-1991) and Lu Yifei (1908-1997) in the 1950s. She then spent several years in Japan, where she was a disciple of the Zen master Rinzai Yamada Mumon Rôshi (1900-1988). There, in 1954, she was selected to paint several bamboos on the sliding doors of the Hiroshima Memorial.

In 1958, Li Ai Vee left China and settled in Zurich, Switzerland. In 1965, she met Zhang Daqian (Chang Dai-Chien, 1899-1983), and became a pupil of this internationally renowned painter. That same year, she was awarded the Medal of the City of Paris in recognition of her art.

In 1973, Li Ai Vee moved to Blonay to the chalet ‘Yu-Lan’ ( 玉蘭 , ‘Magnolia’), surrounded by a vast bamboo forest and guarded by carved Foo lions. It was there that she painted, surrounded by her extensive collection of Asian art, which she has enriched over the years. Li Ai Vee has put together a rich and varied collection of objects, combining monochrome vases, paintings and albums, scholarly objects, carved jades and divinities from the Asian pantheon, all of which she has combined with her passion for art.

The entire collection can be found by entering the keyword ‘Li Ai Vee’ in the search bar on our website.

Two paintings by Zhang Daqian

Zhang Daqian ( 張大千 , Chang Dai-chien, 1899–1983), one of the most renowned Chinese painters of the 20th century, masterfully handled the myriad subtleties of ink painting, breathing new life into a medium deeply rooted in over two thousand years of Chinese tradition. Over the course of a prolific and eclectic career spanning more than sixty years, this internationally acclaimed artist produced over five hundred paintings per year, with his most celebrated works being his splash ink landscapes (pocai), which verge on abstraction. Numerous international exhibitions were devoted to him during his lifetime, and his works are held in prestigious institutions such as the Cernuschi Museum in Paris, the National Palace Museum in Taipei, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In 2011, Zhang Daqian even became the highest-grossing artist at auction worldwide, surpassing Pablo Picasso.

In addition to his painting career, Zhang Daqian was also a distinguished collector and connoisseur of art.

A tireless traveler, Zhang Daqian visited many corners of the world, including Switzerland during the late 1950s and the 1960s. It was there, in 1965, that he met Li Ai Vee, who would become his student following their encounter.

The two paintings presented here were created in that very year, 1965, and are dedicated to Li Ai Vee. The theme of birds, which Zhang Daqian explored throughout his career, is deeply rooted in the classical tradition of Chinese literati painting. Perched on a pine trunk or atop a rock, Zhang Daqian’s solitary birds are rendered with a few swift brushstrokes, combining the spontaneity of the gesture with the rigor of composition. These works, in which emptiness and fullness intertwine with subtle harmony, invite quiet contemplation.