現代 謝稚柳 臨陳洪綬蓮石圖 鏡片|Lotus and Rock, after Chen Hongshou

Xie Zhiliu

Datable to 1937 · Drawing mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on tracing paper · Asian Art

This tracing (the bottom portion of which is now missing) reveals how Xie allowed himself some creative license when copying a painting by Chen Hongshou (1599–1652. In tracing the original, Xie paid greatest attention to the outlines of the lotus petals and leaves; he rendered the contours of the rock in a much more cursory manner. This enabled him to use his brush more freely to describe the rock's form and texture, adhering to neither the model nor his tracing while still preserving Chen's original composition. Xie imitated the inscription in the same way: he followed the general forms of the characters without tracing them precisely. In a further departure from the original, Xie used shading in the finished copy to give his rocks greater substance and to emphasize the main rock's central perforation. According to Xie's inscription on the finished version, he copied Chen's painting while he was staying in Nanjing in the spring of 1937.

Artist

Xie Zhiliu

Date

Datable to 1937

Medium

Drawing mounted as a hanging scroll; ink on tracing paper

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Sarah Shay, 2005