Influences of the Three Masters
Fan Kuan (ca. 950-after 1032), Guo Xi (ca. 1023-after 1087), and Li Tang (ca. 1049-after 1130) were three pivotal masters during the development of Chinese landscape painting in the Song dynasty. Their techniques of brush and ink as well as compositional arrangements of the landscape were adopted to varying degrees by later generations of artists, becoming important paradigms for learning these masters' styles over the ages. The later painters who emulated them ranged from members of the imperial clan to those of the literati and scholar-official class and even local artists, the influence of these three masters extending for hundreds of years up to modern times.
This section of the exhibit presents selected paintings stylistically influenced by these three masters and dated from the Yuan dynasty to the Republican period. These nine selections include copies with similar titles, imitations based on these masters' styles, and even works attributed to them. There are paintings that emulate the monumental majesty and power of the landscape, while others reinterpret certain stylistic characteristics in album leaf or hanging scroll format. Each of them, though, reveals the personal and period features of the artist at the time in seeking inspiration from the past. The trajectories of these later emulators not only reveal the unbroken tradition of these three masters in history but also reaffirm the classical status of Fan Kuan, Guo Xi, and Li Tang in the annals of Chinese landscape painting.
Travelers
Anonymous, Qing dynasty (1644-1911; originally ascribed to Fan Kuan)- Hanging scroll
- ink and light colors on silk
- 155.3 x 74.4 cm
This work is very similar to Fan Kuan's (ca. 950-after 1032) "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams," the composition the same but the size smaller. The middleground outcroppings with the stream and bridge area take up a larger proportion, the powerful atmosphere also less majestic than that of the original. The rocks are softer and more subdued, the use of brush and ink refined. According to modern research, it is perhaps a copy by the Orthodox School painter Wang Hui (1632-1717) in the Qing dynasty.
This painting originally ascribed to Fan Kuan was in the collection of Wang Shimin (1592-1680), another Orthodox master, his inscription on the mounting silk at the left written in 1671 and stating that he once had an authentic Fan Kuan work. An inscription on the right side of the mounting by Song Junye (fl. ca. before 1713) from 1696 also mentions a reduced copy made by Wang Hui of a painting by Fan Kuan.
Imitating Fan Kuan's "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams"
Inscribed by Dong Qichang (1555-1636), Ming dynasty- Album leaf
- ink and light colors on silk
- 57.5 x 34.9 cm
This painting is one leaf from the album "Reduced Copies in Imitation of Song and Yuan Paintings with Colophons" (also known as "To See the Large Within the Small"). The old masters mentioned in this album were all ones venerated by literati in the Orthodox School of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The work here is generally faithful to the original by Fan Kuan with only the proportion of the mountains and bridge area different. The inscription on the facing leaf to the left is a transcription of the one Dong Qichang did for the original. As to the actual painter of this copy, scholars are of different opinions, including the possibility that Wang Shimin (1592-1680), Wang Hui (1632-1717), or Chen Lian (fl. 17th c.) did it. Making reduced copies of old paintings from the Song and Yuan dynasties became a trend in the seventeenth century, the main purpose of which was to learn from and appreciate the originals.
Imitating Fan Kuan's Landscape
Tang Dai (1673-after 1752), Qing dynasty- Album leaf
- ink and colors on paper
- 63.3 x 42 cm
Tang Dai (also spelled Tangdai) was a Manchurian who was summoned to serve at court due to his excellence at painting, the Kangxi emperor (1654-1722) presenting him with the title of "First Among Painters." Tang Dai followed the tradition of imitating the ancients advocated in the Orthodox School since the late Ming dynasty. Many of his paintings were done in the style of imitating the ancients recognized and admired by Qing emperors, being copies of old Song and Yuan dynasty works surviving at the time.
The arrangement in this painting is similar to that in Fan Kuan's (ca. 950-after 1032) "Travelers Among Mountains and Streams." The coloring adds a further touch of refined beauty, and the application of the brush is also more delicate. Compared to Fan Kuan, the overall effect tends to be more decorative with the artist's personal style quite obvious.
Landscape
Cao Zhibai (1272-1355), Yuan dynasty- Album leaf
- ink on paper
- 68.1 x 34.3 cm
Cao Zhibai, a native of Huating (modern Shanghai), painted landscapes in the style of Guo Xi (ca. 1023-after 1087). In the foreground of this work are two towering pines, their branches similar to crab claws, along with rocks painted like roiling clouds. The ridge peaks of the main mountain are ascending and accumulated in layers of light ink, after which scorched ink was applied to emphasize the relationship between the light and dark areas. A scene of traveling in the lower left appears by the bridge connecting the two banks of a body of water that recedes deep into the level distance.
The painting features rich gradations of ink tones that exhibit the qualities of hazy scenery enveloped in clouds and mists. The more forceful manner of brush and ink seen in Song dynasty painting has here been transformed into the pure and refreshing refinement of "ink pleasures" by a Yuan dynasty literatus.
Travelers in Autumn Mountains
Attributed to Guo Xi (ca. 1023-after 1087), Song dynasty- Hanging scroll
- ink and light colors on silk
- 119.6 x 61.3 cm
This painting depicts mountain scenery on an autumn day. A range of distant mountains snakes into the depths, and in the middle is a stretch of water with banks on either side. Huts are scattered about the fine and detailed composition, and the subtle figures include scenes of riding a donkey and crossing the river by ferry to illustrate the theme of traveling.
Among the rocks in the lower left are two characters for "Guo Xi." Although the rocks and branches indeed reveal the features of Guo's style, the work overall does not have the grand majesty of Northern Song landscape painting. Furthermore, the use of brush and ink is more relaxed and untrammeled, closer to the atmosphere of a Ming dynasty (1368-1644) painter. Judging from a seal impressed in the upper right, this work was once in the collection of an ennobled Mu ruling clan member in Yunnan during the Ming dynasty.
Landscape
Attributed to Wu Wei (1459-1508), Ming dynasty- Hanging scroll
- ink and light colors on silk
- 172.6 x 94.5 cm
This painting donated to the National Palace Museum by Lin Tsung-yi depicts a lofty scholar sitting on an embankment and gazing into the distance. Above him is a cliff with pines twisting upwards, the rocks rendered with a slanted brush that form traces similar to axe-cut wood. The distant scenery features washes of light ink that create a moist and misty atmosphere. The craggy and energetic poise of the trees forms a noticeable contrast with the calm and serene figure, giving the painting a sense of dramatic tension.
The style of this scroll follows in the Southern Song tradition of the imperial painting academy as practiced first by Li Tang (ca. 1049-after 1130) and then by Ma Yuan (fl. ca. 1189-1225). Despite the sobriquet "Xiaoxian" for the Zhe School artist Wu Wei appearing on this painting, the composition as well as unrestrained ease of the brushwork are closer to those of a follower practicing in his style.
Imitating Li Tang's "Layered Crags and Red Trees"
Lan Ying (1585-after 1664), Ming dynasty- Album leaf
- ink and colors on silk
- 32.4 x 55.7 cm
Lan Ying, a native of Qiantang in Zhejiang, was a late Zhe School painter. This work comes from his "Album of Imitating the Ancients," which features ten leaves after masters active in the Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, and Yuan periods.
This work employs a semi-diagonal one-corner composition with a majority of the rocks and mountains piled on the right side. The rocks are mainly done with a slanted brush to create "axe-cut" strokes focusing on the surface structure. The distant mountains in the background are rendered with light washes of color, a contrast appearing between the solid and void of the distant and foreground scenery. The coloring is refreshing and radiant, and despite each work in the album being labeled as imitating the brushwork of a particular master, many styles were integrated into the artist's personal manner that permeates the entire set.
Viewing a Waterfall
Tang Yin (1470-1524), Ming dynasty- Hanging scroll
- ink and light colors on paper
- 103.6 x 30.3 cm
Tang Yin, style name Bohu, was a native of Wuxian in Jiangsu who learned painting from Zhou Chen (fl. ca. 1450-1535) and followed the styles of Song and Yuan dynasty masters. This painting derives from multiple stylistic sources that combine the manners of both literati and Southern Song academic painting.
This work portrays towering peaks, the rocky surfaces rendered using "axe-cut" texturing strokes. A cascade falls between the peaks in stages to emerge as rushing torrents of water in front that have the shape of a rainbow, the lines of ink finely depicting water leaping in arcs. A lofty scholar is seated below trees gazing at the waterfall with a young attendant waiting behind him. The layering of the arrangement in the composition is clearly distinguished, the space having a sense of depth.
An Ancient Path in the Setting Sun
Pu Hsin-yu (1896-1963), Republican period- Hanging scroll
- ink and colors on paper
- 95 x 36 cm
Pu Ru (also spelled Puru) is often better known by his style name Hsin-yu, and he also had the sobriquet Xishan yishi. He learned painting by copying the masters, his literary arts as well as painting and calligraphy admired by many.
This painting entrusted to the National Palace Museum from Pu's Cold Jade Hall depicts a stream flowing by a mountain in autumn. In the middle part of the long bridge is an oxherd leading an ox followed by a scholar holding a staff. The artist used animated applications of the brush to render this scene of daily life in the countryside. Textured flicking of a slanted brush was used for the landscape forms, while the tips of the tree branches appear like crab claws. Although said to imitate Li Tang (ca. 1049-after 1130) and Guo Xi (ca. 1023-after 1087), much of Pu Hsin-yu's own style is evident here, revealing a pure and elegant literati manner.
