Ink and color on silkexpand_more
Gift of funds from Joan Wurteleexpand_more 99.17.1
This small oval ink painting displays the landscape subject matter and “one-corner” compositional device associated with Xia Gui (active 1180–1224) and other artists of the Southern Song painting academy. In “one-corner” compositions, the subjects of the painting are pushed to a corner or a side. This school of professional painters maintained their popularity with the court and Hangzhou aristocracy into the early Ming period (1400s).
A series of structures linked by a long covered walkway are shown nestled into pine-covered mountain slopes overlooking a mist-shrouded valley. Replacing the immeasurable vastness of earlier Northern Song ink landscape painting is a somewhat more limited and restrained view of nature, reflecting the shift toward the poetic, intimate, and more impressionistic vision of the Southern Song academy. Small works such as this, typically used as fan or album paintings, were kept in libraries for personal enjoyment, intended for intimate, private viewing.
This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.
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