Reading “The Book of Changes” at a Pavilion in Autumn
Zhang Hong [Chang Hung]
Description
Inscription: … painted at Mr. Zhu’s Plum Hut Studio in the winter of 1639. Zhang Hong of Suzhou
Two seals of the artist
One collector’s seal
An artist whose career spanned the last years of the Ming dynasty and the conquest of China by the Manchus in 1644, Zhang Hong, a native of Suzhou, worked in the literati tradition but earned his livelihood from painting. Here he depicts a solitary scholar, dwarfed by the surrounding autumnal landscape, seated inside a pavilion as he contemplates the ancient classic, The Book of Changes. Studying this profound mystical text on divination in the melancholy mood of fall would be especially resonant.
Subject Matter:
An artist whose career spanned the last years of the Ming dynasty and the conquest of China by the Manchus in 1644, Zhang Hong, a native of Suzhou, worked in the literati tradition but earned his livelihood from painting. Studying the profound mystical text of The Book of Changes in the melancholy mood of fall would be especially resonant. Also, fall is a time for government exams, which this person seems unconcerned with.
Physical Description:
Inscription: … painted at Mr. Zhu’s Plum Hut Studio in the winter of 1639. Zhang Hong of Suzhou
Two seals of the artist
One collector’s seal
A solitary scholar, dwarfed by the surrounding autumnal landscape, seated inside a pavilion as he contemplates the ancient classic, The Book of Changes.
Usage Rights:
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