https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/73413/fullLandscape1713-14Image: 33 1/2 x 16 1/2 inches (85.1 x 41.9 cm)Hanging scroll: ink and slight color on paperGift of Professor Ray J. Wu83.121.0010Central trees in the foreground with path and footbridge leading to the right; houses and temple along a bank below sharply rising curved mountain peaks.Paintings19201417042Wang YuanqiWang Yuanqi was the youngest of the so-called Four Wangs, a group of literati artists that included his grandfather Wang Shimin (1592–1680), along with Wang Jian (1598–1677), and Wang Hui (1632–1717). Followers of the orthodox theories of the late Ming dynasty master Dong Qichang (1555-1636), these artists gained renown for their masterful, yet conservative, landscape paintings.
This landscape painting was painted in the style of Mi Fu, a Chinese painter, poet, and calligrapher of the Northern Song dynasty, who gained renown for his style of painting misty landscapes. The “Mi Fu” style involved the use of large wet dots of ink applied with a flat brush. This painting demonstrates the classic orthodox trend during the mid-Qing period, wherein artists deliberately recall the works of past masters to show their understanding of and reverence for tradition. ("Tradition, Transmission, and Transformation in East Asian Art," curated by Cornell PhD student Yuhua Ding under the supervision of Ellen Avril and presented at the Johnson Museum January 23-June 12, 2016)
Qing dynasty83.121.001_Disc8026_80265006