ZHANG Da-qian’s splashed-colour paintings may be traced to inspirations from his early journey to Dunhuang, and were gradually refined through his later encounters with Western art. The splashed-colour mode marked a turning point in ZHANG’s entrance onto the international art stage, while its emergence and development were also closely tied to the conditions of the age. In the West, abstraction and modernism had become dominant currents, while in the East artists sought transformation and renewal upon traditional foundations. Both spheres engaged in active dialogue. ZHANG Da-qian’s celebrated meeting with Pablo Picasso stands as an emblematic reflection of this cultural moment.

Executed in 1968, this lot “Cataract over the Treetops” was painted at the moment when ZHANG Da-qian’s splashed-colour practice was advancing from maturity into its golden period. In 1970, the work was exhibited in the exhibition “Contemporary Chinese Brushwork by Wang Chi-Yuan and Chang Dai-Chien” organized by the Smithsonian Institution. As the U.S most authoritative national museum, the Smithsonian had, since the early twentieth century, actively established collections and scholarly frameworks for Asian art. Exhibitions organized under its auspices thus carried exceptional cultural and academic significance.

Among ZHANG Da-qian’s fifteen exhibited works in “Contemporary Chinese Brushwork by Wang Chi-Yuan and Chang Dai-Chien”, nine were splashed-colour landscapes, dating from 1966 to 1969. This demonstrates that such paintings had already become central to his artistic identity and were highly esteemed by Western audiences. According to ZHANG Mu-han, a close associate of the artist, American collectors in 1970 competed vigorously for his works regardless of price, though ZHANG’s production was then limited by treatment for an eye condition. The exhibition therefore played a significant role in advancing ZHANG Da-qian’s entry into the international collecting world, while the later reduction in his output has also made works from this exhibition precious.

The spirit of Chinese painting lies in the union of poetry and image. The inscription on this work reads: “After a night of rain in the mountains, from the treetops descend a hundredfold springs.” It evokes torrents of rain pouring through the forest canopy like cascading waters. The composition unfolds from top to bottom, with broad expanses of blue-green splashed colour covering the mountain mass. Rich and saturated tones billow like vapour, suggesting sudden rainfall descending in force. In the foreground, trees are indicated through layered brushwork in varying density, while mist diffuses between splashed ink and splashed colour, creating a pictorial realm in harmony with the poem.

This lot fully embodies the defining qualities of ZHANG Da-qian’s splashed-colour landscapes. Its inclusion in the Smithsonian organized exhibition further attests to the work’s quality and representative importance, as recognized by leading professionals of the time. Not only is this painting a quintessential example from the golden phase of ZHANG’s splashed-colour oeuvre, it also marks a milestone in his ascent into the global collecting sphere, making it a work of both artistic and historical significance.