Defying the dictum of the authoritative theorist Dong Qichang (1555–1636) that "in painting it is better to be descriptively obscure rather than to be obvious," Wang Hui regarded calligraphic abstraction and mimetic representation as "the two wings of a bird." Inspired by Li Cheng's (919–967) descriptive idiom of jagged rock formations and spiky "crab-claw" wintry trees, which demand representational skill as well as calligraphic discipline, Wang's perfectly controlled lyrical composition—a snowscape of enchanted stillness-celebrates the beauty of nature.
Painted for Zhou Lianggong (1612–1672), a high-ranking official who was facing unjust charges of corruption, Wang's choice of the Li Cheng style was significant. Li's winter landscapes had long been viewed as emblems of survival in the face of adversity, so Wang's painting may be read as an expression of sympathy and encouragement.
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Artwork Details
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清 王翬 倣李成雪霽圖 軸
Title:Snow Clearing: Landscape after Li Cheng
Artist:Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632–1717)
Calligrapher:Inscribed by Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632–1717)
Period:Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Date:dated 1669
Culture:China
Medium:Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper
Dimensions:Image: 44 3/8 x 14 1/8 in. (112.7 x 35.9 cm) Overall with mounting: 89 1/4 x 20 7/8 in. (226.7 x 53 cm) Overall with knobs: 89 1/4 x 24 1/8 in. (226.7 x 61.3 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse, in honor of Professor Wen Fong, 1978
Object Number:1978.13
Inscription: Artist’s inscription and signature (2 columns in standard script)
On the twenty-second day of xiaochun [the tenth lunar month] in the jiyou year [November 15, 1669], just before setting out for Boxia [Nanjing] and while my boat was anchored at Piling [Changzhou, Jiangsu], I painted this Snow Clearing, after Li Cheng under candlelight. The Mountain Man of Mount Wumu, Master Stone Valley, Wang Hui inscribed.[1]
歲次己酉小春念二日，臨發白下，舟泊毘陵，剪燭作李成《雪霽圖》。烏目山人石谷子王翬識。
Artist's seals
Wumu Shanqiao 烏目山樵 Wang Hui zhi yin 王翬之印
Collectors' seals
Wang Jiqian 王季遷 (C. C. Wang, 1907–2003) Wang Jiqian haiwai suojian mingji 王季遷海外所見名跡
Mu Si 穆思 (Earl Morse, 1908–1988) Mu Si zhencang 穆思珍藏 Mu Si shoucang mingji 穆思收藏名跡 (on mounting)
Unidentified Zhu xue nan sheng 竹雪南生 Songjiang Li shi Zhongji zhencang yin 松江李氏中及珍藏印 Yinlü Xuan shuhua yin 蔭綠軒書畫印
[1] Translation from Department records.
Marking:
C. C. Wang Family; Mr. and Mrs. Earl Morse , New York (until 1978 donated to MMA)
New York. China Institute in America. "The Life of a Patron: Zhou Lianggong and the Painters of 17th Century China," October 19, 1996–December 21, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Traditional Scholarly Values at the End of the Qing Dynasty: The Collection of Weng Tonghe (1830–1904)," June 30–January 3, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Artist as Collector: Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from the C.C.Wang Family Collection," September 2, 1999–January 9, 2000.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "A Millennium of Chinese Painting: Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," September 8, 2001–January 13, 2002.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "When the Manchus Ruled China: Painting under the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)," February 2–August 18, 2002.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Chinese Painting, Masterpieces from the Permanent Collection," August 28, 2004–February 20, 2005.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Landscapes Clear and Radiant: The Art of Wang Hui (1632–1717)," September 9, 2008–January 4, 2009.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Art of the Chinese Album," September 6, 2014–March 29, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Learning to Paint in Premodern China," February 18, 2023–January 7, 2024 on view February 18–July 16, 2023.
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