A Chinese ink round fan painting on paper of a pine tree by Pu Ru. The painting has an inscription and one seal, and it is mounted on a backing and framed. The lot comes with the fan's bamboo handle, detached. Dimensions are: 11 inches tall X 11 inches wide, 27.9 cm X 27.9 cm, while the frame measures 22 1/4 inches tall X 22 1/4 inches wide, 56.5 cm X 56.5 cm. All measurements are approximate. Condition: There is wear to the edges and staining. A reminder that all lots are sold as-is. We have sought to record the changes in the condition of this piece after its initial manufacture as diligently as possible; however, as stated in our terms, condition reports are statements of opinion and not representations or warranties. Oakridge Auction Gallery bears no responsibility for any error or omission. Provenance: The lot comes with provenance document. From the estate of Ji Zhaoming, whose father was Ji Yuanpu, the former Deputy Director of the Chinese Nationalist Intelligence Agency. Notes: Pu Ru (1896-1963) began life as cousin and heir apparent to Pu Yi, the final ruler of the Qing dynasty and the last Emperor of China. Pu Ru spent much of his childhood into early adulthood at the Jietai Monastery where he studied the works of the old masters. In 1949, when the Communist Party of China came to power, Pu fled to Taiwan. During the first months of his arrival, Pu Ru made a living by selling paintings and calligraphies on the street. After catching the eye of an arts professor from a local university, Pu Ru's reputation exploded and within the year he was appointed as a professor of fine arts himself at the National Taiwan Normal University. In 1959, he held a two-week-long art exhibition at the National Museum of History with a staggering 318 works on display. A highly traditional artist, his work is quiet and contemplative, perhaps harkening back to his halcyon monastic upbringing.This painting is no different. It features a favorite subject of the artist: a pine tree. The boughs of the tree twist and bend across the folds of the round fan. Each knot and twig along the trunk is carefully depicted, their realism enabled by a lifetime of study. A cluster of pine needles hangs at the top of the painting like a cloud, and one can imagine them falling like rain in the autumn. At the base of the trunk stand a few small shoots of bamboo, their diminutive size emphasizing the soaring height of this pine tree. Everything is rendered in Pu Ru's iconic clear, decisive ink strokes. 款識：松竹雙清 心畬 鈐印：舊王孫（朱） 溥心畬（1896年9月2日—1963年11月18日），滿族，原名愛新覺羅·溥儒，初字仲衡，改字心畬，自號羲皇上人、西山逸士，北京人，著名書畫家、收藏家。為清恭親王奕訢之孫。曾留學德國，篤嗜詩文、書畫，皆有成就。畫工山水、兼擅人物、花卉及書法，與張大千有「南張北溥」之譽，又與吳湖帆並稱「南吳北溥」。 松樹是溥心畬作品中最常出現的元素，主張樹立骨力，善於取勢，作品秀逸挺勁，用筆輕重疾徐，起伏頓挫，極富變化，自有清逸絕塵、蕭散飄逸之氣韻，甚至連絕筆也是松樹。此幅作品中間繪以一棵蒼勁古松，秀逸挺勁，樹根處冒出兩株嫩竹，使畫面內容層次豐富，用筆輕重疾徐，起伏頓挫，極富變化，自有清逸絕塵、蕭散飄逸之氣韻。此景讓人不禁想起了「寧知霜雪後，獨見松竹心」，寓意霜雪過後，才會發現只有松竹才有淩霜傲雪的耐寒性格。此件作品配有原配扇柄，即可掛於室內又可以結合扇柄，是為欣賞實用兩相宜之精品。 A similar scroll painting by Pu Ru is currently housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing under accession number 00181017. A similar fan painting by Pu Ru was sold by Beijing Chengxuan Auction Company on November 13, 2015, as lot 97. A similar scroll painting by Pu Ru was sold by Sotheby's Hong Kong on July 9, 2020, as lot 2775.溥心畬很多畫作都喜用松樹題材。可參閱故宮博物院館藏，編號新00181017(fig. 1)。見蘇富比香港2020年07月拍賣，編號2775；北京誠軒2015年秋拍一件成扇，編號097。 High resolution photos can be found here.