Bada Shanren - Lotus and Birds

These birds are alive! The two bigger ones are locked in a staring contest, with eye and beak, as if made of one piece, concentrating all the animosity directed at the Other. The dominant one enjoys the elevated position, ready to pounce. Against his wrath, the defensive one, head pushed back, seems to have deployed a battery of dark foliage and white lotus (symbol of purity of spirit). At the other end of the horizontal scroll, two smaller, meeker birds look at us, thus inverting the viewer/subject relationship. We are indeed looking at ourselves...

(By clicking on any image, you can enlarge it - often beyond the actual size - which will bring out dramatically the ink/paper relationship)


Bada Shanren (or a very talented and empathetic imitator) placed his signature on the right, at the beginning of the handscroll - which is unusual in a Chinese painting. Pushing even further the Chan master's trickiness, he ended his composition with just a few strokes depicting stems, at once recalling some sort of signature and triggering a faint echo of its absence! His work abounds in puns of all sorts, both in painting and in calligraphy. Here, after having read the scroll from right to left, we wonder if we should not read it now in the other direction, and then... if that matters at all.

Unique to the Chinese painting tradition, the handscroll format, which is 'read' from right to left as the viewer slowly unrolls the picture, allows sequential time in the viewing experience. To try and do justice to Zhu Da's masterful exploitation of this feature, the multiple and sometimes repetitive photographs presented here isolate different framings and close-ups available successively to the viewer. The 'modernity' of it all is quite stunning, with so much being achieved with so few brush strokes, each empowered with unequalled concentration, precision... and 'suchness'. As much as the birds are alive, these strokes are so deliberate that they seem to have obliterated the 'historical' time it has taken them to reach our eyes.

Gong Kai - Zhong Kui Traveling with his Sister

Attributed to Gong Kai (1222-1304), this painting presents a different illustration of the famous folk story than the one in the Freer Gallery collection (Picture). The figures are rendered with the customary distortions and an impressive degree of animation, conveying beautifully the chaotic movement of the group. With its harmonious blending of realistic and fantastic elements in a poetic landscape setting, this unique Chinese 'storytelling' style also evokes later Japanese painting. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them).

Ma Hezhi - Four Immortals

Attributed to Ma Hezhi (Southern Song Dynasty - Active c. 1127-90), this painting on silk is about a third the size of a Ming Dynasty version by Shang Xi (active c. 1430-60) exhibited at the Taiwan National Palace Museum (Picture). Shang Xi was a court painter who copied works by Song Dynasty masters. The painting depicts four immortals, including Liu Hai sitting on his three-legged toad, and the God of Longevity flying on the back of a stork. While the attribution to Ma Hezhi is far-fetched, this painting could be an honest copy, with the brushwork exhibiting some of Ma's characteristic variations in hand pressure, notably in the clothing of the four figures.

Lin Liang - Two Hawks in Winter

Together with Shen Zhou, Xu Wei, Dong Qichang and Chen Hongshou, Lin Liang (1416-1480) was among the Ming Dynasty painters who exerted a strong influence on Bada Shanren. Particularly notable here is the highly contrasted, quasi abstract, brushwork.

Compare this painting to Hawks in winter, Two Hawks in a Thicket and Two Eagles

Vimalakirti - After Li Gonglin

This is the third painting in my collection which relates to the recent Metropolitan Museum exhibition Anatomy of a Masterpiece: How to Read Chinese Paintings (see below Qian Xuan and Zhao Mengfu). The corresponding version in the exhibition is a handscroll on silk by Wang Zhenpeng - Vimalakirti and the Doctrine of Nonduality - a copy of a painting by Ma Yunqing (ca. 1230), itself a copy of a handscroll by Li Gonglin and presently in the Palace Museum, Beijing. This version is on paper, roughly the same size than the one in the MET, but different in quite a few ways. There are here two seated monks instead of one, and they are located more to the right of the couch, itself viewed from a different perspective and with a simplified treatment of the decorative elements. The painting is also not executed in the 'iron-wire' style of brushwork used by Wang Zhenpeng and the demonic beast is somewhat human-like, while Wang chose to depict it as a lion-dog. Could this copy be a forgery by Zhang Daqian, complete with a copious amount of seals and an imitiation of the calligraphic style of Emperor Song Huizong? I don't know, although one detail could point in that direction : the "flames" around the first figure on the right of the scroll (Manjusri?) are very similar in style to the ones Zhang often depicted in his copies of the cave temple murals of Dunhuang. One of these - Wugoucheng Bodhisattva - actually depicts Vimalakirti (and was the most daring forgery he sold to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts). [Clicking on any picture will enlarge it]

Album of Landscapes - Shi Tao

If in fact this album is by the hand of Shitao (1643-1707), it would be an example of his earliest style (c. 1667). (The issue of authenticity in Chinese painting is certainly a fascinating subject, which I hope will invite spirited comments on this blog!)

Similar views of Mount Huang by Shitao are published in Vol. I of The Century of Tung Chi-chang. These are in the Beijing Palace Museum collection and appear to be later works, for which the artist may have relied on memory. They are in a slightly wider format and more bluish in tone than the ones presented here.

Shen Zhou - Xie An's Excursion on the Eastern Mountain

It is interesting to compare this painting to another version which can be viewed in an article on the Orientations Magazine Web site: Through Six Generations: An Exhibition of the Weng Collection of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Although it bears an inscription attributed to Zhao Yong (1289-c.1360), the present work on paper is much closer to the style of Shen Zhou (1427-1509), who is famous for the directness and clarity of his brushwork and his bold poetic approach to composition. Quoting from the Wikipedia article on him: "He frequently combined experimental elements with the more rigid styles of the Yuan masters. Much of his work was done in collaboration with others, combining painting, poetry, and calligraphy at gatherings with his literati friends. It was upon these ideals that his Wu School was founded. For Wu painters, painting was a meditation, rather than an occupation".

As is too often the case, the imperial seal manages to compete in a rather crude fashion with the painting's own crowning. Among the other seals, one is attributed to the famous late Ming Dynasty collector Xiang Yuanbian (1525-1602) and one to Miao Quansun (1844-1919). Unless it is a later forgery, this work would be a copy by Shen Zhou of a painting by Zhao Yong. The version presently in the Wan-go H.C. Weng Collection is much larger (293 cm by 122.5 cm) and painted on silk.

Another earlier version, even more different, attributed to Lou Guan is in the Asia Society Museum's collection: Xie An at East Mountain

Fang Danian's Mount Lu

This is a Yuan Dynasty version of the famous Mount Lu painting presently in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, itself a copy of a landscape by Jing Hao (see Wen Fong, p. 28, and Wang Yao-ting, p. 140. Attributed to Fang Danian, this painting is markedly less academic than the large Palace Museum version (painted on silk). Imbued with a subtle melancholy, it is admirable for the way all adjacent parts harmonize with each other and blend in the composition in an almost 'symphonic' manner, reminiscent of another great Yuan master - Huang Gongwang. There is very little information on Fang Danian available and I would be grateful for any that could be brought to my attention. A question which will probably remain unanswered for a long time: Which one of the two interpretations is closest to the original by Jing Hao? Lke so many ancient Chinese paintings which did not survive, the latter can only be imagined through later copies or even later interpretations of these.

(You can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them)

Zhao Mengfu - Twin Pines, Level Distance

This is a twice larger version of the painting by Zhao Mengfu (1254 - 1322) in the current Metropolitan Museum exhibition Anatomy of a Masterpiece: How to Read Chinese Paintings (see a New York Times review and slideshow). I have seen it also called Twin Pines Against A Flat Vista. It seems that there are a couple more know versions in US museums (I read an article about it a while ago, and will post a link when I succeed in locating it). The inscriptions on this one are by Tang Yin and Mo Shilong.

Qian Xuan - Lakeside Scene

This painting by Qian Xuan (1239-1301) is also a close companion to another painting in the current Metropolitan Museum exhibition Anatomy of a Masterpiece: How to Read Chinese Paintings for which there is a New York Times review by Holland Cotter (and a slideshow)

Bada Shanren - Mynah Birds, Wolves and Fish

This is one of the wildest Chinese paintings in my collection. It is so large (about 46" x 92") that I had to join 3 sections to obtain a less than perfectly stitched picture (some lines appear broken at the upper edge of the lower third section). It is the only painting attributed to Zhu Da which depicts wolves - eight of them, together with eight birds and one fish. There is a second inscription on the lower part of the rock. I would be thankful for any documentary evidence regarding this painting (did Bada ever paint wolves?).

Chen Hongshou - Sixteen Views of Living in Seclusion

Attributed to Chen Hongshou (1598-1652), this is a two handscroll version of an album on paper currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, dated 1651 - a year before the painter's death.

Here, the 16 views are grouped in two silk handscrolls with 8 pictures each. It is hard (at least for me) to determine if they were directly painted on the light grey silk, or partly made of woodblock prints with ink and light color washes added. Nevertheless, there is an eerie lightness (or shyness) to the rendering, imparting the whole with a subtle poetic charm.

Chen Hongshou was ceaselessly copying an archaic painting by Zhou Fang. On being told that his copies were much better than the original, he said: "That is precisely why they are not equal to it. It is easy to see the beauty of my copies, but that is where they fail. While the art of Zhou Fang is supreme: where he seems awkward, he is inimitable." (Quoted by Simon Leys)

Xu Wei - Yellow Armor

In retrospect, Xu Wei (1521-1593) can rightfully be credited as an early 'expressionist'. This Ming Dynasty painter influenced generations of followers, most notably Bada Shanren, the Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou, Qi Baishi and Zhang Daqian. The published version of this painting, currently in the Beijing Palace Museum, is reproduced in Three Thousand Years of Chinese Painting (Barnhart, Cahill, Lang & Wu). Lighter in ink tone and narrower, it features a more deliberate splashed ink technique. Detail close-up:

Liu Songnian - Playing the Qin

Attributed to Liu Songnian (1174-1224), a Southern Song academic painter, this painting is striking by its colorful composition of rock, vegetation, carpet and clothing, boldly evoking the vibrant music emanating from the qinqin. It is likely the work of a much later (and very talented) forger (Zhang Daqian?).

Bada Shanren - Mynah Bird and Reflection

There are two or three more extant works by Zhu Da depicting a Mynah bird in a similar posture. While preserving the ambiguity for which Zhu Da's paintings are famous, this one seems to hint more directly to the bird's keen interest for its own reflection in the water below. It is doubtful that a 17th Century Chinese painter would have ever heard of the Greek myth of Narcissus, but he was involved for many years in the study of Buddhist scriptures, with their strong emphasis on the progressive abandonment of any fixed self-image. Another unique feature of Zhu Da's style is the tendency to reduce figures to almost abstract forms, somewhat akin to graphic designs. By deliberately enclosing the bird's silhouette in a virtual right triangle, Bada Shanren enhances the expression of the effort expended in maintaining this acrobatic posture.

Wang Meng Landscape

Dwelling in seclusion in Summer Mountains, by Wang Meng (1308-1385). The silk version is in the Beijing Palace Museum. Who really painted this one - on paper? When? For what specific occasion and purpose? Each of these cracked and faded scrolls has its own particular history involving complex human relationships - cultural, financial, political, etc.

Wang Hui Landscape

"I must use the brush and ink of the Yüan to move the peaks and valleys of the Sung, and infuse them with the breath-resonance of the T'ang. I shall then have a work of the Great Synthesis" [Wang Hui (1632-1717), as quoted in Images of the Mind by Wen C. Fong]. This painting illustrates the kind of dynamic energy that permeates Wang Hui's numerous copies and forgeries of Old Masters. One could argue that, not unlike Zhang Daqian in the 20th Century, this virtuoso imitator failed to assert a style of his own. But his capacity to turn a picture plane into a highly energized field is unmatched in Chinese painting history, not even by Wang Meng, one of the Yuan masters he often copied.

September 2008 update: See the New York Times article and slideshow on the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition Landscapes Clear and Radiant: The Art of Wang Hui (1632–1717)

Fan Kuan Landscape

For centuries, like all Chinese Old Masters, Fan Kuan (ca. 990-1030) has inspired many copies and forgeries . In this one, I find particularly impressive the vibrant treatment of the tree branches and foliage, as contrasted to the meticulous rendering of the dwelling. (Clicking on any picture posted here will bring on a higher resolution image).

Hong Ren Landscape

Hong Ren (1610-1664) is one of the Four Monk painters of the early Qing Dynasty (with Shitao, Bada Shanren and Kuncan). Based on a geometric structure of oblique lines, this extraordinary composition evokes 20th Century 'abstraction' and even 'surrealism', but without any excess, as if the painter was aiming at a perfect balance. One wonders if the Buddhist notion of a 'mind constructed' reality is not here a major factor.

Zhu Da Landscape

Dated c. 1696, the published version of this landscape after Dong Yuan is presently in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm (see the wonderful Master of the Lotus garden, by Wang Fangyu and Richard M. Barnhart). Judging from the signature on this one, it would be earlier by at least a couple of years. Did Zhu Da sometimes copy his own paintings, or did he leave that task to future copyists and forgers? Did he have access to any paintings by Dong Yuan or did he rely on what he imagined the Old Master's style to be?

Li Gonglin - Two Horses

There are very few (3 or 4) known paintings by Li Gonglin (1049-1106), which would make this attribution rather ambitious. Maybe in a few generations, we will be able to determine exactly who painted this. In the meantime, one can only admire the elegance and skill deployed in the making of this work on paper. The inscriptions are attributed to Emperor Huizong (1082-1135), Zhang Yan (Yuan Dynasty), Zi Jing (Ming Dynasty), Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), Yi Lin (Qing Dynasty) and Liang Qingbiao (1620-1691). For once, the imperial seal seems to be in the right place on top of the column, while the numerous inscriptions and collectors' seals blend harmoniously in the whole picture and enhance it somehow.

Yuan Jiang Landscape

In this painting on silk attributed to Yuan Jiang (1671-1746), a certain Western influence is apparent in the composition, the use of deeper colors and, above all, an almost complete absence of "calligraphic" brush style.

Fang Congyi Landscape

Painted on silk, this landscape is attributed to Fang Congyi (c. 1301- after 1380), a Taoist monk-painter, but that is a long shot... Nevertheless, it features exquisite brushwork and is infused with a rare poetic feeling. A much larger version, presently in the Beijing Palace Museum, is unsigned and attributed to Li Zai, a Ming Dynasty painter. (See Masterworks of Ming and Qing Painting from the Forbidden City by Howard Rogers & Sherman E. Lee)

Zhu Da Landscape Album

Bada Shanren (alias Zhu Da, 1626-1705)
Bada's landscapes are among his most powerful 'calligraphic' explorations of the ink medium. They bring to mind the Cézanne Montagne Sainte-Victoire studies, and go even further in the minimal use of brushtrokes. Together with Shi Tao, Bada Shanren (alias Zhu Da, or Chu Ta) is the Chinese painter who came the closest to a 'modern' approach to painting.