Gentlemen with fan seated in the moonlight

Artist Qian Du (Chinese, 1763–1844)

Datelate 18th-early 19th century

MediumInk on paper; double leaf album

DimensionsImage: 8 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches (21 x 27.3 cm)

CultureChina

ClassificationsPaintings

Credit LineGift of Daisy Yen Wu in memory of Yen Hsiao-fang and Yen Tse-king

Terms

Paintings
Albums
Landscape
Ink
Bodies of water
Buildings
Fans (costume accessories)
Fences
Houses
Inscriptions
Landscapes
Men
Moon
Night
Rock
Times of the day
Trees
Paper
double leaf album

Object number83.128.001

Label CopyQian Du hailed from Renhe, in the Hangzhou area of Zhejiang province. He was originally named Qian Yu; his zi was Shumei and his hao was Hugong or Songhu Xiaoying, common sobriquets that can be seen in the signatures and seals here. As a scholar-official, Qian Du excelled at painting, poetry, and calligraphy by studying earlier masters’ works. His landscapes adopted the refined style of Wang Meng (1308–1385) of the Four Masters of Late Yuan, particularly in the “ox-ear-hair strokes.” This page depicts idealized literati activities and might even reflect Qian Du’s state of mind. The mountains, rocks, and other elements are unified by fine brushstrokes derived from early literati masters, but Qian Du employs them to create his own trademark style. ("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)

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