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)
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Chen Hongshou - Sixteen Views of Living in Seclusion
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
I don't mean to keep bugging you, but I love Chen Hongshou. The book I mentioned doing before is called "Twenty Views of Living In Seclusion" I was so impressed and influenced by Chen that I had to do something. I tried to mix the ancient Chinese look with a more modern twist. It is actually about the ten years I lived in seclusion and worked on my art.
Thanks so much for posting these paintings.
Our seeing is greatly shaped by all that we have seen and has left an impression in our mind. That way, we acquire many new "eyes" - a Chen Hongshou eye, a Bada Shanren eye (I am more aware of my cats attitudes since I encountered Bada's paintings). Your 'Mourning Glove Envelope'evokes both these painters
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=23213538
Post a Comment