Pu Ru (1896-1963）

Lady Guoguo Riding Through the Palace-Gate

Footnotes

Provenance:
Private collection, Europe

溥儒　虢國夫人入宮圖　設色絹本　立軸　一九四五年作

款識：虢國夫人承主恩，平明騎馬入宮門。卻嫌脂粉污顏色，淡掃蛾眉朝至尊。乙酉（1945）五月，溥儒題。
鈐印：溥儒之印、心畬

來源：歐洲私人收藏

Pu Ru (1896-1963), originally named Aixin Jueluo (Aisin Gioro) Pu Ru and known by his zi (style name) Xinyu, had additional sobriquets of Xi Huang Shang Ren (An Untroubled Person) and Xishan Yishi (Hermit of West Mountain), studio name Hanyutang. He was the grandson of Prince Gong (Aixin Jueluo Yixin, 1833-1898), who was the sixth son of Emperor Daoguang (1782-1850, r.1820-1850). Throughout the Chinese art scene of the 20th century, Pu Ru's fame was on par with that of Zhang Daqian (1899-1983). When people spoke of accomplished painters, they often referred to 'Zhang in the south and Pu in the north'. After Pu Ru's move to Taiwan in 1949, he was honoured as one of the 'Three Masters Crossing the Strait', along with Zhang Daqian and Huang Junbi (1898-1991).

Pu Ru's life might have witnessed the tumultuous political history of China marked by transformations, yet this former prince led a largely secluded existence, directing his acute observations and scholarly intellect into writing and painting instead, whilst maintaining an air of ethereal transcendence. Pu Ru was best known for his refined and skillful landscapes, but his oeuvre, whether in the pre- or post-Taiwan years, also encompassed figure as well as bird-and-flower paintings. Whilst his figural compositions mostly contain references to history, legends and myths, or pay homages to ancient masters, they mostly express his literati sentiments and enlightened otherworldliness. Under Pu Ru's brush, ladies are less common, sometimes in the form of a lone female, which evokes tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex.

Remarkably however, the current lot, Lady Guoguo Riding Through the Palace-Gate, presents six women. Lady Guoguo is seen here, leaving to meet Emperor Tang Xuezong (685-762, r.712-756) at the break of dawn. She is prominently portrayed at the centre of the composition, on horseback, with two front attendants holding lanterns to lead the way, two following tightly behind fanning her, and one holding her belongings beside the horse, likely having a conversation with the Lady. At the top part of the picture lies Pu Ru's inscription, which is a poem by Zhang Hu of the Tang dynasty, On the Terrace of Assembled Angels II, 'The Emperor has sent for Lady Guoguo. In the morning, riding toward the palace-gate, disdainful of the makeup that might have marred her beauty, to meet him she smooths her two moth-tiny eyebrows.' The signature reads, 'The fifth month of the yiyou year, Pu Ru.' The harmonious blend of poetry and painting is evident with the verses giving the illustration a voice, and the illustration lending meaning to the verses. Such integration of poetry into painting, a theme central to the Chinese literati tradition, continued throughout decades of Pu Ru's artistic pursuits.

In this exquisitely rendered work, Pu Ru's allusion to history, with emphasis on Tang poetry, is apparent, alongside a heightened sense of theatricality and vitality. Lady Guoguo was the third eldest sister of Emperor Xuanzong's beloved consort, Yang Yuhuan (also known as Yang Guifei, 719-756). Historical records indicate that Yang Guifei had three older sisters who possessed great beauty and talents. Emperor Xuanzong appointed his three sisters-in-law to nobility, according each the title of 'Lady Guo' in 748: his eldest sister-in-law, Lady Hanguo, his third sister-in-law, Lady Guoguo and eighth sister-in-law, Lady Qinguo. These ladies won the favour and passion of the Emperor and wielded enormous power in the Tang court. Lady Guoguo was said to have the ability to pull at the heartstrings without makeup on her face. Her riding through the palace-gate at dawn to see Emperor Xuanzong suggests the amorous relationship between them and his unusual devotion to her. It is cited in the unofficial Ming Huang Za Lu (Miscellaneous Records of Emperor Tang Xuanzong) that 'Yang Guifei's sister, Lady Guoguo, once won the heart of the Emperor...she often rode on a horse or sat in a carriage driven by the Emperor's closest servants, whenever entering the Tang court. Even the majestic beauty of the stallion and the attractiveness of the servants were the best of a time.' In 756, the last year of Emperor Xuanzong's Tianbao ('Heavenly Treasure') reign, General An Lushan and his rebel forces captured Chang'an. Lady Guoguo accompanied Emperor Xuezong and Yang Guifei when they fled west, and was killed by the Chencang Magistrate, Xue Jingxian.

This painting was executed in May of the yiyou year (1945) when Pu Ru, at fifty of age, resided in the Summer Palace. During this period, he wholeheartedly devoted himself to painting and poetry, winning much acclaim in the Beijing art circle and receiving numerous requests for his works that are imbued with literary meaning and classical refinement. The precise wording of this lot's inscription, 'Pu Ru ti' (inscribed by Pu Ru) is relatively rare as compared to the more common 'hua bing ti' ('painted and inscribed'). However, this is not an absolute exception as evident in the similar inscription style that can be found in his earlier published paintings. Current scholarship does not permit unqualified statements on authorship as there remains a possibility that this work could be a collaboration between Pu Ru and another artist. It is also unknown as to when Lady Guoguo Riding Through the Palace-Gate entered Europe, as the work has been kept by a Belgian private collector for decades.

溥儒，满族，愛新覺羅氏，初字仲衡，後改為心畬，號羲皇上人、西山逸士，齋號寒玉堂，為恭親王奕訢之次孫。二十世紀中國畫壇，他與張大千並稱「南張北溥」。一九四九年赴台，與張大千、黃君璧合稱「渡海三家」。

溥心畬，這位滿清舊王孫在風起雲湧的變革時代，內心充满遺民情懷，雖對時事有著關切並洞察深刻，但志於詩文書畫，保留著超塵出世的精神。他以山水見長，而人物、花鳥、神怪等無一不精。溥心畬的人物畫多取材於歷史典故，神話傳說或臨寫古人，其筆下仕女淡雅妍麗，常見單人側影，給人以憐香惜玉之慨。

此幅〈虢國夫人入宮圖〉繪女眷六人，擷取虢國夫人天明時分覲見唐玄宗的情景。細緻入微地描繪，使畫面充滿生動的戲劇性。畫面中心為虢國夫人騎於馬上，前面兩位俾女提燈引路，後面兩位持扇緊隨，馬下還有一俾女駐足，雙手奉於胸前，虢國夫人側身相對，似為交談。畫面上方題寫唐人張祜《集靈臺二首（其二）》：虢國夫人承主恩，平明騎馬入宮門。卻嫌脂粉污顏色，淡掃娥眉朝至尊。款署「乙酉五月，溥儒」。詩為畫之音，畫為詩之意，詩畫相得益彰，這種以詩入畫的創作主旨貫穿於其數十載藝術生涯。

虢國夫人為唐玄宗寵妃楊玉環的三姊，據史載，玄宗楊貴妃有姊三人，皆有才貌，玄宗稱之為姨。天寶七年並封國夫人之號：長曰大姨，封韓國；三姨，封虢國；八姨，封秦國。並承恩寵，出入宮掖，勢傾天下。據稱虢國不施妝粉，自炫美艷，常素面朝天。她與唐玄宗關係曖昧，黎明時騎馬入宮朝見，其寵矯情形非同尋常。野史《明皇雜錄》中載：「楊貴妃姊虢國夫人，恩寵一時......虢國每入禁中，常乘驄馬，使小黃門御。紫驄之俊健，黃門之端秀，皆冠絕一時。」天寶十五年安祿山陷長安，虢國夫人隨玄宗、楊貴妃西行，途中為陳倉令薛景仙所殺。

此幅作於乙酉（1945年）五月，心畬年五十，居頤和園，時局動盪，以詩畫自遣，享譽畫壇，求畫者眾。畫上署款「溥儒題」，相較「畫並題」之署法，較為稀見，然翻閱其早年出版畫冊，亦並非孤例。是否可由此做出此幅為合作之結論，有待識者考辨。此畫未知何年流入歐洲，一直為比利時藏家珍藏。