Mountain Freshet, Wind and Rain<br />
Chinese
Description
Gallery Rotation Winter 2014
Mountain Freshet, Wind and Rain
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
13th century
Fan mounted as album leaf, ink and light color on silk
Gift of Professor Richard and Vee Ling Edwards, 1988/2.28
While the earliest recorded painted fan in China dates to the Jin dynasty (265–420), fans became extremely popular during the Song dynasty. This one, probably produced in the Southern Song (1127–1278), is now mounted as an album leaf. It describes a scene of crashing rain and wind, swirling clouds and fog, and the subtle transformation from darkness and to light. The composition, which is concentrated on one side, is common on Song dynasty fans. Though much of the space in the top left corner appears empty or painted only with a light wash, some landscape is visible, submerged in the heavy fog.
Though the album leaf does not contain the name of the painter, the seal on the fan reads, “Song Luo authenticated.” Song Luo (1634–1713) was an early Qing dynasty (1644–1912) art connoisseur and collector. The colophon was inscribed by Pu Xinshe (1896–1963), a leading twentieth-century painter and calligrapher and a member of the Manchu imperial family. According to the inscription on the album leaf, the fan is a brilliant example of Northern Song (960–1127) painting.
Subject Matter:
The earliest record in China of painting on a fan is in Jin dynasty (265-420A.D.), but fan paintings gained wide popularity in Song dynasty. According to the inscription on the album leaf, this painting was a brilliant piece of the Northern Song dynasty, describing a scene of crashes between the wind and rain, the tangling cloud and fog, and the subtle transformation between the dark and the light. The subtle touches of the ink make the landscape both a mirage and a reality, as the rocks and trees on the shore are immersed in mists produced by the water. The composition--leaning on one side, is a common one among fan paintings in the Song dynasty. Though most of the space on top left corner is left empty, viewers may still perceive existence of some landscape, which is just submerged in the heavy fog.
Physical Description:
A fan mounted as an album leaf. Writing on the mounting is an identification statement of the Song dynasty fan painting. The landscape depicted trees growing from rocks at the lake shore. The waves are whipping the shore due to a rain storm.
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