Waiting for a Ferry by a River in Autumn

Description

Yao Yunzai was a visionary early seventeenth-century artist.
Although highly esteemed, he was not prolific. His paintings
were scarce during his lifetime and few survive today. The
imagery in his paintings echoes that found in famous works
of the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties. This
scroll depicts a tranquil autumn scene of figures waiting
for a ferry on a riverbank, a recurring motif in the Chinese
literati (amateur scholar-artist) tradition. The ferry is
anchored near the bank across the river. While one ferryman
at the stern holds the scull, another extends his hand to help
a passenger, possibly an official, board the vessel.
Composed with delicate lines and neatly arranged ink dots,
the painting is embellished with exquisite colors. In order
to create a dark background, the artist may have tinted the
unpainted areas, such as the sky and water, to a soft brownish
tone. This also softens the vivid contrasts among the
bright pigments.
Fall 2015 Gallery Rotation
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Inscription: Painted in the 10th month of 1641. Yao Yunzai
Two seals of the artist
One collector’s seal
Although highly esteemed during his lifetime, Yao Yunzai was not a prolific painter and few examples of his work survive today. This rare scroll depicts a tranquil autumn scene of figures waiting for a ferry on a riverbank. The elegant blue and green landscape, with its echoes of earlier Tang and Song dynasty imagery, convincingly asserts Yao’s status as a visionary early seventeenth-century artist who, being independent-minded, pursued new sources of inspiration for his paintings.
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Although a highly esteemed painter, Yao Yunzai was not
a prolific artist nor did he frequently publish his work. As a result, his paintings were scarce even during his lifetime and fewer still survive today. This rare scroll depicts a tranquil autumn scene of figures waiting for a ferry on a riverbank. The elegant blue-and-green landscape, with its echoes of earlier Tang and Song dynasty imagery, convincingly asserts Yao’s status as a visionary early seventeenth-century artist.
(6/28/10)
(Chinese Gallery Rotation, Spring 2010)