Barbara Takenaga, Blue splash, 2013, acrylic on linen.

Bosco Sodi, Untitled, 2012, mixed media on canvas.

Bronze figure of Parvati, South India, Chola period, circa 1100.

Frans Hals, The smoker (De roker), circa 1623 – 1625, oil on wood.

Gerhard Richter, Green-Blue-Red, 1993, oil on canvas.

Kazimir Malevich, Self-portrait, 1908 or 1910 – 1911, gouache on paper.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, Adoration of Christ, oil on canvas.

Lucas Cranach the Elder, Portrait of Desiderius Erasmus, circa 1530 – 1536, oil on panel.

Master of Jacques de Besancon, Mass of St Gregory, about 1500, tempera colors, ink and gold on parchment.

Millefleur-Star-Lattice-carpet, late 17th – early 18th century, Mughal, India.

Nick Brandt, Ranger with tusks of killed elephant, Amboseli, 2011, archival pigment print.

Su Shi (ook Dongpo genoemd, wat betekent Eastern Slope of oostelijke helling) The Gong Fu Tie Calligraphy, 1037 – 1101.

Su Shi
Su Shi, who is also sometimes known as Dongpo,
was born in Sichuan province to a family of preeminent literatis.
As a young prodigy he came to the attention of Emperor Renzong (1010-1063),
and achieved celebrity status when he provided perfect responses
in ancient prose for his civil service exams.
For the next twenty years he held a variety of government posts,
and was particularly known for his economic policies
and construction of many public projects, including the “Su’di”,
the pedestrian causeway cross the West Lake
that’s been romanticized by poets and painters for centuries.

However, political changes meant he fell out of favour
from time to time and was banished repeatedly for his open criticism
of the dominant “New Policy Group”.
During his long exiles to the lush and remote Hubei province
and Hainan Island, Su Shi committed to Buddhist meditation
and produced some of the most wellknown poems
and calligraphy ever published in the Chinese language.
While living on a farm, he adopted his literati name,
“Dong’po”, meaning “eastern slope”.

His popularity surged after his death in 1101 as he became
the revered and mythical namesake for numerous landmarks
and the subject of countless paintings and poems.
Manuscripts by Su Shi are among the most sought-after objects
in Chinese history.

The Gongfu Calligraphy
Although just nine characters long
The Gong Fu Tie Calligraphy has resonated with scholars for centuries
who have recognized its technical sophistication as well as
the Su Shi’s humanism it so beautifully embodies.
The piece has been recorded in many of the most authoritative books
on Chinese art and been lavished with praise,
with the well-known author Weng Fanggang describing it
as ‘a divine piece of calligraphy.’
This work was completed mid-way through the artists career
in his mature period and is a goodbye letter
to Su Shi’s fellow artist Guo Gufu (1035-1113)
a close friend despite differing political views.

Willem de Kooning, The priveleged (Untitled XX), 1985, oil on canvas.

Zeng Fanzhi, The Last Supper, 2001, oil on canvas.