元 倪瓚 秋林野興圖 軸|Enjoying the Wilderness in an Autumn Grove

Ni Zan

dated 1339 · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

Until the early 1340s, Ni Zan lived the life of a wealthy dilettante, spending his time among the precious books, antiques, and flowers of his Pure and Secluded Pavilion. His painting style at the time, as seen here, exhibits a studied archaism in which his interest in descriptive detail is at odds with his self-conscious use of calligraphic "hemp fiber" brushstrokes in the manner of tenth-century masters. Ni's gentleman seated in a rustic pavilion is shorthand for the scholar in his studio. His florid poem exhibits a similarly precious quality of one entirely absorbed in his immediate surroundings. It reads, in part: In the bright days, bamboo wave in the breeze; In the dark nights, parasols of fir hold up the moon. Burning incense I use [a censer in the form of] a gilded duck; Gathering scattered petals, I place them inside my pillow. (trans. Wen Fong)

Artist

Ni Zan

Date

dated 1339

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988