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China:
Buddhist art: Many sculptures and paintings were made as aids for Buddhist meditation. The
physical image became a base to support or encourage the presence of the divinity portrayed in
the mind of the worshipper. Images were also commissioned for any number of reasons,
including celebrating a birth, commemorating a death, and encouraging wealth, good health, or
longevity. Buddhists believe that commissioning an image brings merit for the donor as well as to
all conscious beings. Images in temples and in household shrines also remind lay people that
they too can achieve enlightenment.
XXXMandala: Mandala of Jnanadakini ,late 14th century
Tibet (a Sakya monastery)
Distemper on cloth; 33 1/4 x 28 7/8 in. (84.5 x 73.3 cm)
Illuminated Manuscript: Illuminated pages from a dispersed Dharani manuscript, 14th–15th
century
Tibet (Zhalu monastery)
XXXCloissone bowl: Dish with scalloped rim, Ming dynasty, early 15th century
China
Cloisonné; Diam. 6 in. (15.2 cm)
XXXRed Plate: Seven-lobed platter with scene of children at play, Yuan dynasty (1279–
1368), 14th century
China
Carved red lacquer; Diam. 21 7/8 in. (55.6 cm)
Gathering: Elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden, Ming dynasty, ca. 1437
After Xie Huan (ca. 1370–ca. 1450)
China
Handscroll; ink and color on silk; 14 3/8 x 94 3/4 in. (36.7 x 240.7 cm)
XXXBamboo wind: Bamboo in Wind, Ming dynasty, ca. 1460
Xia Chang (1388–1470)
China
Hanging scroll; ink on paper; 80 1/4 x 23 1/2 in. (203.8 x 59.7 cm)
Inscribed by the artist (lower right): "Done by the Free and Easy Retired Scholar [Zizai jushi]; by
Qian Bo (active mid-15th century; upper right), dated 1460; by Liu Jue (1410–1472; upper left),
dated 1470
XXXWooded Mts. All and detail: Wooded Mountains at Dusk (detail), Qing dynasty
(1644–1911), dated 1666
Kuncan (Chinese, 1612–1673)
China
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper; 49 3/4 x 23 7/8 in. (126.2 x 60.6 cm)
Inscribed by the artist
Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988 (1989.363.129)
High in the mountains, another traveler—perhaps a self-portrait of the artist—sits in meditation
beneath a natural stone arch. One such rock bridge, located on Mount Tiantai, a site sacred to
Buddhists, was said to provide access to paradise for anyone able to cross it.
XXXLacquer box
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Sutra box, Ming dynasty, Yongle period (1403–1424)
China
Red lacquer with qiangjin (incised and gilt decoration); 5 1/2 x 15 x 5 in. (14 x 40.6 x 12.7 cm)
XXXShell and lacquer box: Incense container, Koryô dynasty (918–1392), 10th–12th century
Korea
Lacquer with mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell inlay (over pigment) and brass wires; H. 1 5/8 in.
XXXWaterfall: Scholar by a Waterfall, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), late 12th—early
13th century
Ma Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1190—1225)
China
Album leaf: ink and color on silk; 9 7/8 x 10 1/4 in. (25.1 x 26 cm)
XXXTwinpines: Twin Pines, Level Distance, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), ca. 1300
Zhao Mengfu (Chinese, 1254–1322)
China
Handscroll: ink on paper; 10 1/2 x 42 1/4 in. (26.7 x 107.3 cm)
XXXSimple retreat: The Simple Retreat, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), ca. 1370
Wang Meng (Chinese, ca. 1308–1385)
China
Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper; H. 53 1/2 in. (136 cm), W. 17 3/4 in. (45 cm)
Signed: "The Yellow Crane Mountain Woodcutter Wang Meng painted this for the lofty scholar of
the Simple Retreat"
Politician: Garden of the Unsuccessful Politician, Ming dynasty, dated 1551
Wen Zhengming (1470–1559)
China
Album of eight paintings with facing pages of calligraphy; ink on paper; 10 7/16 x 10 3/4 in. (26.6
x 27.3 cm)
Fishrocks: Fish and Rocks, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), dated 1699
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) (Chinese, 1626–1705)
China
Hanging scroll; ink on paper; 53 x 23 7/8 in. (134.6 x 60.6 cm)
Inscribed by the artist
XXXMingcup: Stem Cup
China, Ming dynasty, Xuande period (1426–1435)
Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue with anhua design; Diam. 6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm)
XXXMingvase: Jar, Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period (1426–1435)
China
Porcelain painted in underglaze blue; H. 19 in. (48.3 cm)
XXXReliefmed: Medallion, Ming dynasty, late 16th–early 17th century
China
Ivory; Diam. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)
XXXFisherman:
Fisherman, Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), ca. 1350
Wu Zhen (Chinese, 1280–1354)
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Handscroll; ink on paper; 9 3/4 x 17 in. (24.8 x 43.2 cm)
Inscribed by the artist
XXXXHorse: Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322), Horse and Groom in the Wind
Old tree:
Gu An, Zhang Shen and Ni Zan, Old Tree, Bamboo and Rock
Hanging scroll. Ink on paper. Ht. 93.5cm. Yuan dynasty, c. 1369-73. National Palace
Museum, Taipei.
This specific bamboo painting was painted on paper, not using the traditional silk as a
medium. Bamboo painting holds an important significance in Chinese painting. First of
all, bamboo represents a true gentleman. It is plain, yet strong. Bamboo can hold strong
through the rough winds. Secondly, painting bamboo takes great skill. It involves the
most skilled form of Chinese art, calligraphy. Each leaf and section of the stem must be
painted with the perfect stroke. Each stroke must be planned out so that the spacing of the
stems and leaves and branches all go together.
It is common in Chinese art that multiple artists will contribute to one piece. This
painting is a perfect example of this. It shows honor and respect when an artist makes a
contribution to an existing painting. This particular painting has three artists that have
contributed. Gu An did the bamboo, Zhang Shen painted the old tree and calligrapher
Yang Weizhan wrote the poem. The poem is about “painting bamboo while drunk”
reffering to Gu An’s portion of the piece. Ni Zan later made a contribution that many
critiques say spoils the composition of the piece. He painted the rock and added a long,
messy inscription in the top left corner.
This painting is from the Yuan dynasty. During this time period bamboo painting had a
greater prominence than before. The painters were usually literari, gentlemen scholars
who painted for enjoyment and self-improvement. During this time the variety of
brushstrokes became important. Most of the paintings of this time are of the Buddhist
influence.
Poet:
Huang Shen, The Poet Tao Yuanming Enjoys the Early Chrysanthemums
Huang Shen’s (1687-c.1768) “The Poet Tao Yuanming Enjoys the Early
Chrysanthemums” is a figure painting in ink on paper dating from the early Qing
Dynasty. As the title suggests, it is a painting of the poet Tao Yuanming enjoying his
favorite flower, the chrysanthemum, which is being tended by a young child. The 23
centimeter tall painting is in the style of most Song Dynasty figure paintings, in that it has
no context, but displays only the important figures along with a short calligraphy by the
artist explaining his work. It is thought that this figure style is a humourous twisting of
the style of the famous Gu Kaizhi in the Tang Dynasty. Huang Shen was one of the
“Eight Eccentrics” during the Qing Dynasty and this painting is an example of his unique
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style. He playfully distorts the classical figure painting style with more tremulous brush
strokes that outline and contour the figure more, like calligraphy. He mixes the refined
with the vulgar by painting an acclaimed poet alongside a peasant boy in a sparse natural
setting. The style is distinctly not classical, but popular as his paintings were done for
wealthy businessmen and other patrons, not specifically for the royal court.
XXXXWhiteporcelain:
Guanyin. White porcelain. Fujian Dehua ware. Ht 22 cm.
Early Qing Period, seventh century. Barlow Collection, University of Sussex.
The Guanyin figure, from the Barlow Collection at the University of Sussex, represents
the Buddhist goddess of Compassion. The figure is made of a fine white porcelain
referred to as Dehua ware because it came from the Dehua site in the Fujian province
located in southeastern China. The area did not become well known until the Ming
dynasty and continued to grow into the Qing dynasty, when this particular Guanyin figure
was made. The monochrome wares that were produced at Dehua are very difficult to date
and do not have reign marks, making it hard to explore the history of the porcelain. The
objects are identified by the quality of the porcelain, with its unique and very beautiful
appearance, made of a soft white color and an elegant translucency. The porcelain
represents a period of high achievement starting during the Ming dynasty, as it was
widely traded throughout Europe because of its unique appeal and became known as
blanc-de-Chine.
Peachblossom:
Peach Blossom Spring, Shitao [1642-1707], ink & color on paper
The Peach Blossom Spring, now displayed in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington,
D.C, is a Qing dynasty hand scroll done with ink and color on paper painted between
1705-07. The artist, Shitao, is considered to be one of the “Great Individualists” of the
Qing dynasty whose style is greatly influenced by the Tang, Sung, and Yuan dynasties.
This piece was completed after his transformation in 1697 from being a Buddhist monk
to entering the commercial realm and being a full time professional artist at Yangzhou.
Living a solitary life in the mountains, he became enthralled by nature and its relation to
the artist’s use of line. He created a list of 13 texture patterns that all artists should learn
and wrote the Huayulu, a document about the unity of man and nature and the yi hua,
“one painting” or “one line.” The Peach Blossom Spring embodies these aesthetic
philosophies. It has bold spontaneous lines, natural forms, diverse textures, multiple
perspectives, and the characters are engulfed in the sublimity of their landscape and
become mere details.
The hand scroll depicts Tao Yuanming’s poem The Peach Blossom Spring, a dynastic
narrative that tells the story of a lost fisherman from the Jing dynasty who comes across a
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small, timeless, utopian community that had mysteriously fled to a mountain paradise
during the Qin dynasty. Art historians suggest that Shitao painted topographical pieces,
like this one, because of the politics of his own time concerning the instability of the
Qing dynasty and his growing interest in dynastic history sparked by his newly found
imperial identity (he is part of a princely lineage). The hand scroll has the classic
elements of a topographic landscape—the cracked-ice pattern of the field, the solitary
ploughman, the mist around the city gate, and the bird’s-eye-view.
Breakingwaves: BREAKING WAVES AND AUTUMN WINDS
early 16th century
Dai Jin , (Chinese, Chinese, 1388-1462)
Ming dynasty
Ink on paper
H: 29.9 W: 1112.9 cm
China
XXXdwelling:
DWELLING IN SECLUSION IN THE SUMMER MOUNTAINS
1354
Wang Meng (ca. 1308 - 1385) , (Chinese,
Yuan dynasty
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
H: 216.1 W: 55.2 cm
China
landscape: LANDSCAPE AFTER NI ZAN AND CALLIGRAPHY IN STANDARD SCRIPT
ca. 1703-05
Bada Shanren (Zhu Da) , (Chinese, Chinese, 1626-1705)
Qing dynasty
Album leaf; ink on paper
cm
China
bamboocreek: THE PURE RECLUSE OF BAMBOO CREEK
15th century
Anonymous, traditionally attributed to Ni Zan (1306-1374)
Ming dynasty
Handscroll; ink on paper
H: 55.4 W: 24.3 cm
China
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woman: STANDING FIGURE OF A WOMAN
16th century
Tang Yin , (Chinese, Chinese, 1470-1523)
Ming dynasty
Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
H: 126.7 W: 69.7 cm
China
bamboogrove: STUDIO IN BAMBOO GROVE
ca. 1490
Shen Zhou , (Chinese, 1427-1509)
Ming dynasty
Ink and color on paper
H: 26.4 W: 368.1 cm
Xiangcheng, China
This short handscroll depicts a studio, which contains a small group of thatched and tiled huts
surrounded by a bamboo grove on a small and flat island at a lake side. A scholar with a lute and a
container of books sits in the hut in front of a calligraphy screen. There is a bridge behind the hut
connecting the island with the mountain path. An open pavilion is located on the near shore across
from the island. There is a group of tall trees in the left foreground hills, which gives a view from
the studio.
Spingstream: SEEKING A LINE OF POETRY BY A SPRING STREAM
ca. 1500
Shen Zhou , (Chinese, 1427-1509)
Ming dynasty
Hanging scroll; ink and color on satin
H: 162.0 W: 54.5 cm
China
cliff moon: REMINISCENCES OF NANJING : CLIFF-BORDERED MOON
1707
Shitao , (Chinese, 1642-1707)
Qing dynasty
Album; ink and color on paper
cm
Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China
orchids: ORCHIDS, BAMBOO, AND ROCK
ca. 1700
Shitao , (Chinese, 1642-1707)
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Qing dynasty
Hanging scroll; ink on paper
cm
China
Bodyguard: Portrait of the Imperial Bodyguard Zhanyinbao, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), dated
1760
Unidentified Artist (18th century)
China
Returninghome: Returning Home, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), ca. 1695
Shitao (Zhu Ruoji) (Chinese, 1642–1707)
China
Album of twelve paintings; ink and color on paper; Each painting leaf: 6 1/2 x 4 1/8 in. (16.5 x
10.5 cm); Each album leaf: 8 5/16 x 5 5/16 in. (21.1 x 13.5 cm); W. of double page: 10 5/8 in. (27
cm)
Facing pages inscribed by the artist
From the P. Y. and Kinmay W. Tang Family Collection
Gift of Wen and Constance Fong, in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Dillon, 1976 (1976.280i)
(Shitao was only two years old when the Ming dynasty fell. Saved by a loyal retainer, he was
given sanctuary and anonymity in the Buddhist priesthood. In the late 1660s and 1670s, while
living in seclusion in temples around Xuancheng, Anhui Province, he trained himself to paint.
After many years of wandering from place to place in the south and spending nearly three years
in Beijing, Shitao moved to the commercial center of Yangzhou around 1695, where he
renounced his status as a Buddhist monk and supported himself through his painting. Drawing
upon his love for natural scenery and his technical facility with brush and ink, Shitao created the
most original landscape style of the seventeenth century. )
(A scion of the Ming imperial family from a branch enfeoffed in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, Zhu
Da became a "crazy" Buddhist monk, shamming deafness and madness in order to escape
persecution after the fall of the Ming dynasty. Lodging his feelings of frustration and vulnerability
in his art, he created a deeply personal expressionist style that reflects his ambivalence about his
life in hiding and his failure to acknowledge his identity as a Ming prince.)
evening clouds: GaoKegongEveningCloudsOnAutumnMtsScrollFragment
Artist: Gao Kegong
Title: EVENING CLOUDS ON AUTUMN MTS SCROLL FRAGMENT
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Chinese paintings:
Materials: The artist used brush, ink, and color pigments on paper to create this
handscroll. Ink, whether applied to silk or paper, cannot be altered once the
brush touches the painting surface. By adjusting the amount of water mixed with
the ink, and by handling the brush lightly, the artist can create a variety of tones,
from light to dark.
Calligraphy: The same tools (brush, ink, silk, and paper) are used for both
writing and painting. Chinese is traditionally written in columns from top to bottom
and right to left. There are strict rules about the order and execution of individual
brushstrokes to form characters. But like the painter, the calligrapher is allowed
the freedom to express his thoughts and feelings by the choice of calligraphic
style he uses to write his characters, as seen in this handscroll.
In China, calligraphy is considered a higher or purer form of artistic expression
than painting. Both verbal and visual communication can be achieved with a
single Chinese character. By looking at the character for mountain, which
resembles one central peak surrounded by two smaller peaks, one can see the
visual relationship of the characters to their meaning. Similarly, the flowing nature
of water is suggested visually in the character for water.
XXXNi Zan’s painting landscape: nizan 1 and 2
XXXXBird1
Anonymous Southern Song artist, Loquats and Mountain Bird
Bird2
Anonymous (Song), Duckling
Flowers1
Ma Lin, Layers on Layers of Icy Silk
Flowers2
Qian Xuan (ca. 1235- after 1301), Autumn Melon
Flowers3
Wang Qian (Yuan), Peony
Plum
Wu Zhen (1280-1354), Plum and Bamboo
Treebamboorock
XXXXWu Zhen (1280-1354), Old Tree, Bamboo and Rock
Fuchun
XXXXHuang Gongwang, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, some
influence of the monumental style but not used to create the sense of
monumentality in the landscape, more a musical device in his case; some
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areas of complexity and other areas that are almost barren; a sense of
"writing" the painting rather than painting it
Dongqichang
This Ming artist, Dong Qichang, almost always painted "pure landscapes"
or landscapes without figures, without narrative interest, without some
element of human interest. His paintings avoided naturalism because, he
said, a painting cannot begin to equal the beauty of the real world. But on
the other hand, the natural world could not equal what an artist could do
with brush and ink. This painting is one which has several layers of
meaning to it. In one sense, it appears to be like a map, a painting of a
Buddhist monastery on a mountain. It also is a demonstration of the
artist's skill with the brush and the particular principles of composition
that he promoted in his own writings about theory. It is a painting which
demonstrates his knowledge of "old" styles, of the monumental style, in
particular. It is also close to abstract in the dynamism of the forms which
create some visual turmoil. This may be the deepest message, a personal
and political statement in which the artist takes an old and familiar type
which had been associated with order and stability, and deliberately turns
it into a painting of disorder and instability.
To understand the lack of color in many Chinese landscape paintings, one must
fully appreciate the interrelationship of calligraphy and painting.
Calligraphy and painting use the same formats and tools (brush, ink, paper, and
silk). The basic methods of handling a brush and ink to create the individual
strokes of a Chinese character can also be used to create descriptive lines and
textures in painting.
It was during the Tang dynasty that the full expressive potential of ink was
realized, as suggested in this quote from the ninth-century art historian, Zhang
Yanyuan:
Grasses and trees may display their glory without the use of reds and greens;
clouds and snow may swirl and float aloft without the use of white color;
mountains may show greenness without the use of blues and greens; and a
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phoenix may look colorful without the use of the five colors. For this reason a
painter may use ink alone and yet all five colors may seem present in his
painting.
In this hanging scroll, entitled Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, by the artist Ni
Zan (1306–1374), the correspondence between calligraphy and painting
becomes apparent. It is a sparse, seemingly simple landscape devoid of human
presence.
Western paintings, like photographs, tend to present images of landscapes from
a fixed point of view with a mathematically constructed illusion of recession, or
perspective, which makes space appear to recede toward a single "vanishing
point." Chinese landscape paintings use a moving perspective based on the
notion of three distances (near, middle, and far) which allows the eye to move
between various pictorial elements without being limited to one fixed, static point
of view. Thus, the viewer is encouraged to ramble through the landscape image.
Ni Zan, using abstract brushstrokes to suggest three-dimensional forms, exploits
the tension between surface pattern and the illusion of recession to animate his
composition. In this painting, where the bottom section acts as the foreground
while the top acts as the background, a series of diagonal forms draws the
viewer's focus upward across the picture surface as well as deeper into the
represented space.
At the bottom of this scroll, the foreground contains textural details of the side
and top of the rocky shoreline, while the trees are presented from a level, or
frontal, perspective. The water (the unpainted paper surface) and the less
detailed, smaller-scale rocks and trees in the middle ground suggest receding
space. The large mountain in the upper section of the scroll is shown as if the
viewer were looking up at it. The smaller, pale hills to its right convey the massive
size of this mountain and create a sense of deeper distance within the painting.
Summer mts.: Summer Mountains
Attributed to Qu Ding (active ca. 1023–ca. 1056)
Handscroll; ink and light color on silk; 17 7/8 x 45 3/8 in. (45.3 x 115.2 cm)
Summer Mountains, attributed to the mid-eleventh century artist Qu Ding, a court
painter employed by Emperor Renzong (r. 1023–63), presents a vast, panoramic
landscape of a summer evening following a rain shower. By juxtaposing
immeasurably high mountains with minute details of human activities, the artist
conveys the Daoist belief of the primary importance of nature, and of man's small
yet harmonious existence within this orderly universe. The contrast of the dark,
velvety ink washes and brushstrokes that define the mountains and trees with the
empty, unpainted areas that suggest clouds, mists, and water is a visual
reference to the rhythmic flow of the opposing forces of yin and yang (dark/light
and wet/dry) found in nature.
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The concept of traveling through time and space in one's imagination is
exemplified in this painting. Beginning at the right, imagine unrolling this
handscroll slowly toward the left about a foot or so at a time, identifying with the
tiny human figures in the landscape so that you can walk along its pathways and
relax in its pavilions and temples. In this way you focus on small sections in
sequence, creating a visual journey through the dense wet foliage and mountain
passes on this summer evening.
Garden: Elegant Gathering in the Apricot Garden (detail), 1437
After Xie Huan
Handscroll; ink and color on silk; 14 3/4 x 94 3/4 in. (37.5 x 240.7 cm)
Painting, calligraphy, and poetry are referred to as "the three perfections" and are
traditionally considered the highest forms of artistic and intellectual expression in
China. By applying a brush filled with ink or color on either a silk or paper
surface, the Chinese artist and calligrapher could paint or write in a variety of
traditional formats, including handscrolls, hanging scrolls, albums, and fans. The
artist's primary intention was not to reproduce or describe the outward
appearance of his chosen subject, whether a landscape, a flower, a bird, or a
human being, but to capture its inner nature or essential spirit. The brushstrokes
of a painting were thought also to reflect the individual artist's state of mind.
An inscription, dedication, and/or poem might be written directly on a painting by
the artist or a close friend. Comments, called colophons, by later owners and
admirers of a painting are often added on the mounting. These writings are
viewed as a vital part of the work of art and add another level of understanding
and appreciation for a specific work of art. In Elegant Gathering in the Apricot
Garden, each participant at the party composed a colophon that was added to
the completed handscroll, including a preface composed by Yang Shiqi (1365–
1444), the eldest guest in attendance, describing the circumstances of this
festive event.
The early Ming dynasty was a period of cultural restoration and expansion. The reestablishment
of an indigenous Chinese ruling house led to the imposition of court-dictated styles in the arts.
Painters recruited by the Ming court were instructed to return to didactic and realistic
representation, in emulation of the styles of the earlier Southern Song (1127–1279) Imperial
Painting Academy. Large-scale landscapes, flower-and-bird compositions, and figural narratives
were particularly favored as images that would glorify the new dynasty and convey its
benevolence, virtue, and majesty.
In Ming painting, the traditions of both the Southern Song painting academy and the Yuan (1279–
1368) scholar-artist were developed further. While the Zhe (Zhejiang Province) school of painters
carried on the descriptive, ink-wash style of the Southern Song with great technical virtuosity, the
Wu (Suzhou) school explored the expressive calligraphic styles of Yuan scholar-painters
emphasizing restraint and self-cultivation. In Ming scholar-painting, as in calligraphy, each form is
built up of a recognized set of brushstrokes, yet the execution of these forms is, each time, a
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unique personal performance. Valuing the presence of personality in a work over mere technical
skill, the Ming scholar-painter aimed for mastery of performance rather than laborious
craftsmanship.
Early Ming decorative arts inherited the richly eclectic legacy of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, which
included both regional Chinese traditions and foreign influences. For example, the fourteenthcentury development of blue-and-white ware and cloisonné enamelware arose, at least in part, in
response to lively trade with the Islamic world, and many Ming examples continued to reflect
strong West Asian influences. A special court-based Bureau of Design ensured that a uniform
standard of decoration was established for imperial production in ceramics, textiles, metalwork,
and lacquer.
Mu-Chi (1210-1275) detail from "Mother Monkey and Child"
Persimmons and tigers
The Kokka describes the "Persimmons" (see reproduction) as having a "super-mundane
atmosphere". Perhaps it is greatly revered because of the "passion congealed in a
stupendous calm" that Waley describes. Certainly, it is typical of the points made about
Zen painting. The depth is implied by such short distances it is rather an openness than
depth! It is like looking straight up into the sky where there is no dimension.
It is concerned with placement, with the "abstract dispositions" but every stroke
delineates physical reality. The shapes are fruit bulks and the lines are stems. Their
interaction is wonderful to watch. This is probably the most popular painting in the West
of all those mentioned in this paper.
Following are the remainder of the reproductions attributed to Mu Chi
Muchiman
Priest Chien-tzu playing with a shrimp" (#28, see reproduction) is painted from a point of
view close to Liang Kai's and is the only authentic painting with the same subject matter.
He is placed similarly to Pu-tai: about the same distance from the bottom of the picture,
and the figure is cantilevered from the left edge by his pole, the inscription riding above.
The mass stroke is used to wash in the robe. To get at the difference let us compare the
bamboo pole with that in Hui-neng. Mu's is done with an even smooth stroke held at the
beginning and the end to form a soft larger darkening at the joints, whereas Liang's
breaks are accentuated by black hooked strokes. Mu's jolly little man is quite different
form the noble personalities of Liang Kai's paintings. He is completely unselfconscious.
He is modestly but happily occupied with catching shrimp.
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Fanqi1
Fanqi2
Landscapes Painted for Yuweng, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), dated 1673
Fan Qi (Chinese, 1616–after 1694)
China
Among the more conservative masters working in Nanjing were Ye Xin (active ca. 1640–73) and
Fan Qi (1616–after 1694), both of whom worked in an unusually precise and realistic style. Both
specialized in small-scale gemlike paintings depicting the rural scenery around their native city.
Sensitive and lyrical recorders of the familiar, these artists were also innovative experimenters
with light, atmosphere, and color whose art reflects a creative response to Western influences
recently introduced to China by the Jesuits.
One Hundred Horses (detail), datable to 1728
Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) (Italian, 1688–1766)
China
Chinese court painters soon mastered the rudiments of Western linear perspective and
chiaroscuro modeling, creating a new, hybrid form of painting that combined Western-style
realism with traditional brushwork.
A key figure in establishing this new court aesthetic was the Italian Jesuit Giuseppe Castiglione
(1688–1766), who lived in China from 1716 until his death in 1766 and who adopted the Chinese
name Lang Shining. A master of vividly naturalistic draftsmanship and large-scale compositions,
Castiglione worked with Chinese assistants to create a synthesis of European methods and
traditional Chinese media and formats.
1600s