Landscape After "Solitary Fishing in a Ravine of Flowers" by Wang Meng, 1749

Gion Nankaiexpand_more

Ink and light color on paperexpand_more

Gifts of funds from the Surdna Foundation in honor of Libby Andrus and her board service, Nivin MacMillan, Mary Crosby Dolan, Carol Burton Gray and Steven Gray, Beverly N. Grossman, Ruth and John Huss, Lucy and Bob Mitchell - Longfellow Foundation, Sheila Morgan, and members of the Director's Circle 2015 trip to Japan in honor of Dr. Matthew Welchexpand_more  2016.11

Not on Viewexpand_more

Mighty, gnarled pine trees command the lower half of this enormous landscape, the largest known painting by Gion Nankai, a pioneer of the Nanga movement in Japan. Beneath the trees is a cliffside path with a gate leading to a small hut tucked away in a grove of bamboo. We find the hut’s tenant in a covered boat on the river, being poled by a servant, offering us a viewpoint of and a pathway toward a dramatic landscape of precipitous cliffs, misty valleys, waterfalls, and distant layered peaks.

In an inscription at upper right, Nankai describes his work as being based on Solitary Fishing in a Ravine of Flowers, a painting by one of China’s most revered scholar-painters, Wang Meng (1308–85). Nankai also took inspiration from Wang Wei (699–759), the ancient scholar, poet, and painter who was regarded in China, and later in Japan, as the forefather of Nanga.

Details
Title
Landscape After "Solitary Fishing in a Ravine of Flowers" by Wang Meng
Artist Life
1677 - 1751
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2016.11
Curator Approved

This record has been reviewed by our curatorial staff but may be incomplete. These records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

800px

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

Error loading high resolution image. Report this problem.