Discourse on Poetry
Gao Jian
(Chinese, 1634–after 1715)
Calligrapher:
You Tong
(Chinese, 1618–1704)
Calligrapher:
Song Zhi
(Chinese, active 17th–18th century)
Period:
Qing
dynasty (1644–1911)
Date:
dated
1698
Culture:
China
Medium:
Handscroll;
ink on paper
Dimensions:
Image:
13 11/16 x 35 7/16 in. (34.8 x 90 cm)
Classification:
Paintings
Gardens were often designed to embody the
ideals of their owners. Paintings of gardens could take even greater license in
conveying a man’s character by constructing symbols and metaphors drawn from
elements of the natural environment. That is surely the case with this painting
by the Suzhou artist Gao Jian.
The painting was made to accompany a treatise on Chinese poetry by the renowned scholar-official and collector Song Luo (1634–1713). In it, Gao presents an idealized evocation of Song composing his discourse in a garden pavilion. Rejecting bright color and representational verisimilitude, Gao renders his simplified, almost naive vision of the garden in a spare, “dry brush” monochrome style that emphasizes the painting’s role as a “portrait” rather than a literal description of the scholar’s surroundings. The majestic pines, dense grove of bamboo, and tranquil lotus pond may all be read as metaphors for Song’s lofty character, moral virtue, and detached state of mind.
The sparse foreground and meticulous brushwork exemplify the Suzhou School of painting, from which Gao derived his style. Framed by a bold seal-script frontispiece and Song’s treatise, transcribed in formal standard-script calligraphy by Song’s son, the scroll unites poetry, painting, and calligraphy in a quintessential work of early Qing literati culture.
The painting was made to accompany a treatise on Chinese poetry by the renowned scholar-official and collector Song Luo (1634–1713). In it, Gao presents an idealized evocation of Song composing his discourse in a garden pavilion. Rejecting bright color and representational verisimilitude, Gao renders his simplified, almost naive vision of the garden in a spare, “dry brush” monochrome style that emphasizes the painting’s role as a “portrait” rather than a literal description of the scholar’s surroundings. The majestic pines, dense grove of bamboo, and tranquil lotus pond may all be read as metaphors for Song’s lofty character, moral virtue, and detached state of mind.
The sparse foreground and meticulous brushwork exemplify the Suzhou School of painting, from which Gao derived his style. Framed by a bold seal-script frontispiece and Song’s treatise, transcribed in formal standard-script calligraphy by Song’s son, the scroll unites poetry, painting, and calligraphy in a quintessential work of early Qing literati culture.
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