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Exhibit Works
Dates: 2015/04/01 ~ 2015/06/25
Gallery: 202
Album of Figure Paintings
Album leaf, ink and color on silk, 37.4 x 31.5 cm
Little is known about Zhuang Yuan, but his painting style fits that of court artists active during the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong reigns during the Qing dynasty. According to an archival record dated to the equivalent of 1738, early in the Qianlong reign, a brocade cover and silk label were made for this album, indicating its production sometime beforehand.
For this exhibition, the third and last leaves of the album have been chosen for display. The third leaf depicts a leisurely drinking scene beneath willow trees, the patches of farmland in the distance appearing like patchwork. The last leaf shows a traveler on a donkey in snow-filled scenery with attendants carrying books, paintings, and a wrapped zither. They appear as if proceeding to an elegant gathering. The last leaf also bears a signature, "Respectfully painted by Zhuang Yuan," but is not prefixed by a character for "Servitor." This may suggest that Zhuang was a professional painter serving in the home of someone in the imperial family or nobility at the capital.
Inviting a Guest to a Mountain Studio
Hanging scroll, ink on silk, 212.5 x 124.4 cm
This painting shows a host hastening on his way from a thatched building under pine trees at the left in order to greet a guest arriving from the right who is bowing in a sign of respect. Placed on the table next to the building are books and a zither as an attendant moves a stool, as if the host had just been whiling away the time appreciating the moon and waiting for his guest to arrive.
Though originally ascribed as by an anonymous Song dynasty painter, the often rash hooking strokes and applications of ink, large and slightly stiff "axe-cut" texture strokes for the mountains and rocks, and diagonal composition of solid on the left and void on the right make this work similar to the painting of Zhong Li (fl. ca. late 15th c.) in the National Palace Museum collection. It suggests that a Zhe school artist in the late fifteenth or early sixteenth century did this hanging scroll.
Pure Summer of Mountains and Streams
Hanging scroll, ink and light colors on paper, 204.5 x 108.2 cm
The foreground scenery in this painting features a waterside pavilion by a stream in the foreground followed by slopes and peaks in the middleground, where a mountain path leads to a temple complex in the forest. Several peaks stand lofty in the distance with white clouds hovering about them. The rocks and mountains are mostly enveloped in washes of blue and green, the clouds flecked with white pigment as well. The result is a pure and refreshing cloudy coolness for the blue of mountains and green of waters. All the figures are also shown wearing white clothes, appearing as if immortals leisurely traveling in a wonderland.
The old attribution of this work is to Sheng Mao of the Yuan dynasty, but the method of rendering the figures and architecture, along with the texturing of rocks and mountains and handling of the space, are much closer to the style of Xie Shichen (1487-1567), making this most likely a masterpiece of mid-Ming dynasty painting instead.
Gathering in the Land of Immortals
Hanging scroll, ink and colors and gold on silk, 201.5 x 121.8 cm
This painting depicts cascading waterfalls in mountains of the immortals with towers and pavilions clinging to the peaks. An immortal in Daoist clothing holds a whisk and sits upright on a daybed as others make their way by the rocky path and amongst the buildings. The rocks and peaks in the painting were first outlined with coarse strokes and then textured with fine brushwork. In addition to washes of mineral blue and green, the work also features the use of gold paint to give a colorful and brilliant effect brimming with the sense of a realm of the immortals.
The former attribution of this painting is to the Yuan dynasty artist Hu Tinghui. Despite a signature at the right to this effect, it is probably a spurious addition. The style overall, however, is actually closer to that of the middle to late Ming dynasty, making this a fine painting later assigned to Hu Tinghui.
Sunrise over a Sea of Clouds
Hanging scroll, ink and colors on silk, 232.7 x 132 cm
Gao Qipei, a native of Liaoyang, served in the White Bordered Banner of the Han Army. Famous for his fingernail painting, he also was gifted at the precise and careful use of brush and ink, as seen in this large hanging scroll.
The painting here depicts a glowing red sun suspended over the scenery, the hues of morning light resplendent on multitudinous peaks. The tree-lined foreground mounds by the water are dotted with halls and towers as well as thatched huts and pavilions where old and young alike ascend the heights to celebrate and pay homage to the rising sun. Hills twist and turn among the sea of clouds, where connected buildings are seen that form part of a walled city. In the distant mountains people are also paying homage, as if everyone in the land is celebrating together. In the lower right is the artist's signature prefixed by the character for "Servitor," indicating it may have been an imperially commissioned work for the New Year to be submitted to the emperor.
In Imitation of Dong Yuan's "Mists and Fog in Summer Mountains"
Hanging scroll, ink and light colors on paper, 228.3 x 87.5 cm
Fang Shishu (style name Xunyuan; sobriquets Huanshan, Xiaoshi daoren) was a native of Shexian whose family lived in Weiyang. In landscape painting, he looked to the Loudong School, his brushwork hoary yet beautiful. This work from 1737 was done at the age of 46 by Chinese reckoning. In Fang's inscription, he mentioned having once appreciated a handscroll entitled "Mists and Fog in Summer Mountains" by the Five Dynasties artist Dong Yuan, which he imitated and converted into the vertical scroll here.
His painting is filled with shoals and slopes piled in layers extending into the distance using a high distant view to integrate the surface. The forms and brushwork follow the original; "Flat and rounded everywhere, not a single form stands out." As such, it achieves much of the spirit in Dong Yuan's style.
The Eighteen Scholars
and Ding Guanpeng (1706-1770); Qing dynasty
Handscroll, ink and colors on silk, 39 x 1138.2 cm
This long handscroll is a cooperative figure painting done on imperial order by the court painters Sun Hu, Zhou Kun, and Ding Guanpeng and submitted in 1741, early in the Qianlong reign. The first half of the scroll is based on the story of how Emperor Taizong in the Tang dynasty brought together scholars throughout the land at his Hall of Literary Studies, and it depicts the eighteen scholars engaged in various scholarly activities among the buildings.
Of particular note, however, is that the latter half of the scroll appears to be a continuation of "Spring Dawn in the Han Palace," depicting ladies gathering in the women's quarters at the court to enjoy flowers and appreciate antiquities. The rendering throughout this handscroll is delicate and the coloring beautiful, making it a classic example of court painting from the early part of the Qianlong emperor's reign.
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