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仿子久密林煙岫圖 (王鑑)
This is an unusually wide hanging scroll showcasing a horizontal composition of a mountain scene. Wang Jian, born in Taicang and one of the Four Wangs, was known for his painting as well as being a great teacher who bridged the generations of artists in the 17th and 18th centuries. He taught two of the most significant Changshu-born artists, Wang Hui and Wu Li, both of whose styles are represented in this gallery. Here, Wang Jian’s painting refers to another work by Huang Gongwang. Adding rich layers of color in trees and rocks, the artist recreates the colorful appearance of Huang Gongwang’s work. Having discovered an abundance of umber pigment on Mt. Yu (located in Changshu), Huang Gongwang introduced the use of it in Chinese paintings to add subtle colors of yellows, browns, and oranges to autumn scenes. This material and coloring later became a preferred choice when artists painted autumn mountains and colored landscapes.
Requires Photography
Dense Woods and Misty Valleys after Huang Gongwang
仿子久密林煙岫圖 (王鑑)
Wang Jian (Chinese, 1598–1677)
Chinese
Late Ming and early Qing dynasty
1669
Medium/Technique
Ink and color on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 214 x 109.5 cm (84 1/4 x 43 1/8 in.)
Image: 83.2 x 90.7 cm (32 3/4 x 35 11/16 in.)
Image: 83.2 x 90.7 cm (32 3/4 x 35 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Wan-go H. C. Weng Collection and the Weng family, in honor of Weng Tonghe
Accession Number2018.2912
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
This is an unusually wide hanging scroll showcasing a horizontal composition of a mountain scene. Wang Jian, born in Taicang and one of the Four Wangs, was known for his painting as well as being a great teacher who bridged the generations of artists in the 17th and 18th centuries. He taught two of the most significant Changshu-born artists, Wang Hui and Wu Li, both of whose styles are represented in this gallery. Here, Wang Jian’s painting refers to another work by Huang Gongwang. Adding rich layers of color in trees and rocks, the artist recreates the colorful appearance of Huang Gongwang’s work. Having discovered an abundance of umber pigment on Mt. Yu (located in Changshu), Huang Gongwang introduced the use of it in Chinese paintings to add subtle colors of yellows, browns, and oranges to autumn scenes. This material and coloring later became a preferred choice when artists painted autumn mountains and colored landscapes.
Catalogue Raisonné
14
Marks
Artist’s seals:
Laiyun guan 來雲館 (rectangular, relief)
Ranxiang anzhu 染香菴主 (square, intaglio)
Laiyun guan 來雲館 (rectangular, relief)
Ranxiang anzhu 染香菴主 (square, intaglio)
InscriptionsArtist’s inscription and signature (6 columns in running script, dated 1669)
己酉花朝，倣黃子久密林煙岫。似石亭老世兄正之。王鑑
On the Flower Festival [in the second month] of the jiyou year [1669], painted after Huang Zijiu’s [Huang Gongwang’s] Dense Woods and Misty Valleys for elder brother Shiting’s refined appraisal. Wang Jian
己酉花朝，倣黃子久密林煙岫。似石亭老世兄正之。王鑑
On the Flower Festival [in the second month] of the jiyou year [1669], painted after Huang Zijiu’s [Huang Gongwang’s] Dense Woods and Misty Valleys for elder brother Shiting’s refined appraisal. Wang Jian
Provenance19th century, Weng Tonghe (b. 1830 - d. 1904), Beijing and Changshu, China; 1904, by inheritance from Weng Tonghe to his great-grandson, Weng Zhilian (d. 1919), Changshu and Tianjin; 1919, by inheritance from Weng Zhilian to his son, Wan-go H.C. Weng, Tianjin, New York, and New Hampshire; 2002, transferred to the Hsing Ching Weng Trust, New Hampshire; 2018, gift of the Hsing Ching Weng Trust to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 12, 2018)