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夏雲出岫圖 (王原祁)
Wang Yuanqi was a prominent landscape painter and the youngest of the Four Wangs, a group of late-17th and early-18th century leading artists, all from southern China. They were known for their insistence on studying the styles and brushwork of the ancient painting masters. Their work is considered a zenith of Qing dynasty painting. Two of them successfully entered the imperial atelier in Beijing and conducted the emperor’s painting projects. One was Wang Yuanqi, who was still on official duty when he produced this hanging scroll, an expression of his longing for home in the south.
Beijing is more than 700 miles from Wang Yuanqi’s home in Taicang, a town in the Yangzi River delta with a much milder and more humid climate. The artist described the harsh winter weather of the capital in this painting’s inscription: “Suffering from the season’s severe wind and snow, I try to think of summer clouds to conjure up some warmth. So, I painted this misty mountain to imagine the warm air.”
Summer Clouds Emerging from Mountains
夏雲出岫圖 (王原祁)
Wang Yuanqi (Chinese, 1642–1715)
Chinese
Qing dynasty
1711
Medium/Technique
Ink on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 226.5 x 94.5 cm (89 3/16 x 37 3/16 in.)
Image: 132.8 x 64.4 cm (52 5/16 x 25 3/8 in.)
Image: 132.8 x 64.4 cm (52 5/16 x 25 3/8 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Wan-go H. C. Weng Collection and the Weng family, in honor of Weng Tonghe
Accession Number2018.2913
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
Wang Yuanqi was a prominent landscape painter and the youngest of the Four Wangs, a group of late-17th and early-18th century leading artists, all from southern China. They were known for their insistence on studying the styles and brushwork of the ancient painting masters. Their work is considered a zenith of Qing dynasty painting. Two of them successfully entered the imperial atelier in Beijing and conducted the emperor’s painting projects. One was Wang Yuanqi, who was still on official duty when he produced this hanging scroll, an expression of his longing for home in the south.
Beijing is more than 700 miles from Wang Yuanqi’s home in Taicang, a town in the Yangzi River delta with a much milder and more humid climate. The artist described the harsh winter weather of the capital in this painting’s inscription: “Suffering from the season’s severe wind and snow, I try to think of summer clouds to conjure up some warmth. So, I painted this misty mountain to imagine the warm air.”
Catalogue Raisonné
20
Marks
Artist’s seals:
Yuanqi zhi yin 原祁之印
Lutai 麓臺
Huatu liuyu ren kan 畫圖留與人看
Xilu houren 西廬後人
Yuanqi zhi yin 原祁之印
Lutai 麓臺
Huatu liuyu ren kan 畫圖留與人看
Xilu houren 西廬後人
InscriptionsArtist’s inscription and signature (11 columns in running script, dated 1712)
房山與大癡皆平淡天眞者也。大癡以平淡爲縱橫，房山以平淡爲變化，體裁雖異而意韻則同。学者於此参活句，便见伐毛洗髓之功矣。余在公少暇，又値严风朔雪之时，颇思夏云以招暖气。每於归寓后弄笔消寒，半月而成，亦见篷勃之致，可谓忘其老倦。酷嗜成癖，题畢一笑。康熙辛卯臘月八日画，王原祁时年七十
Fangshan [Gao Kegong] and Dachi [Huang Gongwang] both possessed a “calm blandness” and natural innocence, but Dachi used his calm blandness in his technique, while Fangshan used his to create transformation. Although their styles differed, their intentions resonate. If students consider these profound words, they will be able to understand how to eliminate inessential elements. I had little leisure from my official duties, and, as it was just the season of severe wind and snow, I would think about summer clouds in order to feel some warmth. After returning home from work, I always painted to dispel the winter cold. Completed in half a month, this scroll displays a flourishing scene. One may say that painting has become a fond obsession of mine to forget about old age and fatigue. After I inscribed this, I had a laugh.
Painted by Wang Yuanqi on the eighth day of the last month in the xinmao year [1712] of the Kangxi era at the age of seventy.
房山與大癡皆平淡天眞者也。大癡以平淡爲縱橫，房山以平淡爲變化，體裁雖異而意韻則同。学者於此参活句，便见伐毛洗髓之功矣。余在公少暇，又値严风朔雪之时，颇思夏云以招暖气。每於归寓后弄笔消寒，半月而成，亦见篷勃之致，可谓忘其老倦。酷嗜成癖，题畢一笑。康熙辛卯臘月八日画，王原祁时年七十
Fangshan [Gao Kegong] and Dachi [Huang Gongwang] both possessed a “calm blandness” and natural innocence, but Dachi used his calm blandness in his technique, while Fangshan used his to create transformation. Although their styles differed, their intentions resonate. If students consider these profound words, they will be able to understand how to eliminate inessential elements. I had little leisure from my official duties, and, as it was just the season of severe wind and snow, I would think about summer clouds in order to feel some warmth. After returning home from work, I always painted to dispel the winter cold. Completed in half a month, this scroll displays a flourishing scene. One may say that painting has become a fond obsession of mine to forget about old age and fatigue. After I inscribed this, I had a laugh.
Painted by Wang Yuanqi on the eighth day of the last month in the xinmao year [1712] of the Kangxi era at the age of seventy.
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)