倣趙伯駒山水圖 軸|Landscape in the Style of Zhao Boju (Fang Zhao Boju shanshui)

Wang Hui

dated 1654 · Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper · Asian Art

This painting is Wang Hui’s second earliest extant work. Done barely two years into his apprenticeship under the preeminent master Wang Shimin (1592–1680), it shows an approach that differs entirely from that of his earliest known work of 1650 and reflects his exposure to the region’s great collections of ancient masters. According to Wang’s inscription, the painting follows the style of Zhao Boju (died ca. 1162), a Southern Song academy painter known for his landscapes in the blue-and-green style. The calligraphic contour lines and texture dots of Wang’s interpretation, however, owe more to Wang Shimin than to the twelfth-century master. One year before his death Wang added a second inscription: This painting was done in my youth; suddenly, more than sixty years have gone by. Seeing it now I am ashamed of my first steps.

Artist

Wang Hui

Date

dated 1654

Medium

Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1976