Ding Yanyong

CHINA, Guangdong, Maoming

Ding Yanyong was a painter, seal engraver, and art educator who was also known as Ding Hong or Shudan. Alongside Lin Fengmian and Guan Liang, he is regarded as one of the Three Elites of Guangdong. In 1920, Ding obtained a government scholarship to study western style painting at the Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan. Upon returning to China, he engaged in art education and later, alongside Cai Yuanpei and Chen Baoyi, established the Chinese Art University in Shanghai. He later moved to Hong Kong in 1949, changed his name to Ding Hong, and continued teaching art.
Ding’s western paintings followed the fauvist style of Henri Matisse, and his Chinese paintings were modeled after masters such as Xu Wei, Bada Shanren, and Jin Nong. Skilled in the depiction of both nature and figures, Ding’s landscape paintings employed bold and flowing brushstrokes, leaving empty white spaces which appeared to intentionally represent a sense of reclusive serenity. His figure paintings on the other hand, delivered a lasting charm in their clean and simple style.
In his later years, Ding turned to seal carving and uniquely incorporated his painting style into his works. He often used the bull as a theme in his pieces, as seen in Ding’s Alias and Bull King, which in addition to the piece, Heavenly People, were charming pictorial square seals. His written works include Development of Chinese and Western Paintings, Bada Shanren and Modern Arts, and Collection of Ding Yanyong’s Works.