China Popular Itineraries |
|
|
|
|
Huang Gongwang (in the Yuan Dynasty): Residence in the Fuchun Mountain |
Huang Gongwang (1269- 1354), whose alternative name was Zi Jiu, and style name Crazy Taoist, produced many landscape paintings, most of which are about the natural landscapes along the south of the Yangtze River. He was fond of using the Caozhou method in ink and light purple-red, his strokes being concise and far-reaching, and his style, vigorous and magnifi-cent. He lived in the later period of Yuan Dynasty and is mentioned with Wu Zhen, Ni Zan, Wang Meng as one of the Four Yuan masters in painting histo-ry and was regarded as the first among of them. His paintings had great influ-ence on the landscape paintings of the Ming and the Oing dynasties.
He started to paint Residence in the Fuchun Mountain (picture No. 13, see p. 683) in 1347. He worked on the painting more than a decade, stopping now and then until he was 83 when he wrote the inscription for the painting. Even then he had not fully completed it. It is Huang Gongwang's masterpiece of landscape paintings in ink. It depicts the early autumn scenery along the banks of the Fuchun River. Hills rise and fall; trees are thick and profuse. He dwelt in Fuchun Mountain and, with his very careful observation and good understanding of the surrounding landscapes, he presented great details in his paintings. The smart and graceful touch of the brush, the appreciation of the imposing and transparent color all prove that he had reached a rather high level both in art mastery and painting technique. The painting appropriately reveals its painter's pure and unconventional world of spirit. |
|
