Travelers on a Mountain Pass

Description

Copies and Invention in East Asia (August 17, 2019 - January 5, 2020)
Wu Wei often mined the landscape paintings of the Song dynasty (960–1127) for sources. In this large hanging scroll depicting three travelers on a mountain path in winter, he is looking directly at the work of Li Cheng (919–967). We can see, however, that the styles of past masters were not just models for emulation, but for creative transformation. While preserving the scale and subject of works like Li Cheng’s A Solitary Temple amid Clearing Peaks (at right), Wu Wei’s painting has a different feel. There is a greater emphasis on the human presence in the vast mountain landscape, while at the same time the painting is more abstract, with prominent brush strokes that have become part of the composition. Indeed, viewed from close up, the landscape elements seem to disappear into the brushwork.

Wu Wei
China, 1459–1508

Travelers on a Mountain Pass
Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
ca. 1490–1508
Hanging Scroll, ink and light color on silk Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Clyde Wu, 1981/1.312

Wu Wei was a Ming dynasty court artist renowned for his large landscapes, often painted rapidly, before an audience, and frequently while inebriated. He was particularly revered for his free and confident brushwork, visible here in the strokes making up the cliffs at the upper right. Seen from a distance, these seemingly chaotic lines create the illusion of texture. Such freely-painted areas contrast with the exacting detail and intimate charm of the figures of a master on a donkey and two servants on foot, traveling together in the snowy landscape. Due to the size of his monumental works—this one originally measured over eighteen-feet long—it is likely that the artist spread the silk on the floor, applying ink strokes while standing on it.