明 董其昌 倣倪瓚山水圖 軸|Landscape with Trees in the Manner of Ni Zan (1301–1374)

Dong Qichang

ca. 1622–25 · Hanging scroll; ink on paper · Asian Art

Dong Qichang revived the tenets of the scholar-painter: to follow the ancient models and to apply the principles of calligraphy to painting. In proposing a "great synthesis" of all ancient landscape idioms, Dong turned landscape forms into calligraphic abstractions. The most desirable element in painting, according to Dong, was brushwork rather than representation: "If one considers the wonders of brush and ink, real landscape can never equal painting." This painting is an interpretation of the Yuan master Ni Zan's (1306–1374) art. Dong Qichang regarded Ni's painting as a calligraphic abstraction of the tenth-century master Dong Yuan's style and used Dong Yuan's "hemp-fiber" texture strokes to re-create Ni Zan's brush landscape idiom.

Artist

Dong Qichang

Date

ca. 1622–25

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988