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Yuan dynasty Wu Zhen (1280-1354)

A Mountain among Mountains

A Mountain Among Mountains

  • 26.4 x 90.7cm

u Zhen was a native of Jiaxing, Zhejiang. His style of painting was modeled after the tenth-century painter Juran, but he was able to forge his own path in painting. He was later recognized as one of the Four Masters of the Yuan . The collector An Yizhou (1683-ca. 1744) made an entry on this painting in his catalogue "Moyuanhuikuan" (Classification of Works Viewed): "Sloping peaks rise and fall amid close clusters of pines . Not a single odd tree disturbs the rhythm. The painting is completely in the style of Beiyuan, using thick hemp-fiber strokes as texture and moss dots  on the mountains. In between the main mountains are other background peaks  painted with washes of rich tone. They appear relatively low, which adds an unusual aspect to the painting's perspective. The brushwork is blunt and the atmosphere antique. This is truly a masterpiece by Wu Zhen." Wu Zhen painted "A Mountain among Mountains" at the age of fifty-six.

Four Masters of the Yuan

This is a collective term for the four representative masters of Yuan landscape painting. However, there are two versions for the four members making up the group. One was introduced by Wang Shizhen, whose four members comprised Zhao Mengfu, Wu Zhen, Huang Gongwang, and Wang Meng. The other was presented by Dong Qichang, whose four members consisted of Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng, Ni Zan, and Wu Zhen. The latter is the mostly commonly accepted grouping.

Moyuanhuiguan

Written by An Ch'i (1683-?), his preface to this book gives the date 1742. Most of the works catalogued in the book were in his collection, but some were in friends' collections or works for sale. Many of them, which range from the Six Dynasties period up to the end of the Ming, were recorded masterpieces. Composed of a main part and an addendum, painting and calligraphy each take up half the contents. The main edition, with more detailed records, often provides research and commentary along with discussion of technique and brushwork for works from the Sung or before. The addendum includes works acquired after 1742. Perhaps due to An's age, the contents of this part are inferior to those of the main part.

Close clusters of pines

Close clusters of pines
Moss dots

Moss dots
Background peaks

Background peaks