Landscape with Figures under a Tree
Artist
Ding Yunpeng
(Chinese, 1584–1638)
Date1616
Mediumink and gold leaf on paper
Dimensions17.9 x 51.7 cm (7 1/16 x 20 3/8 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Terms
Object number1960.11
DescriptionDing Yunpeng, who lived for some time in a Chan (Zen) Buddhist temple, was admired by contemporaries as a fine literati (scholar-official) painter. He was involved with the intellectual circle of the great Ming artist and critic Dong Qichang, and his use of ink tone and textured rock surfaces in the landscape recalls the broad, wet brushwork of Shen Zhou, the first great painter of the influential Wu school, the mainstream of Ming literati painting. Working in the literati tradition of monochrome drawing, Ding painted radically abstracted natural forms with greater intellectual than sensory appeal. This tiny masterpiece reflects the artist's work as a designer for woodblocks. Rather than depicting illusory space, Ding aimed for powerful surface design: an interplay of textures and patterns massed as coherent units across the fan.Label TextDing Yunpeng, who lived for some time in a Chan (Zen) Buddhist temple, was admired by contemporaries as a fine literati (scholar-official) painter. He was involved with the intellectual circle of the great Ming artist and critic Dong Qichang, and his use of ink tone and textured rock surfaces in the landscape recalls the broad, wet brushwork of Shen Zhou, the first great painter of the influential Wu school, the mainstream of Ming literati painting. Working in the literati tradition of monochrome drawing, Ding painted radically abstracted natural forms with greater intellectual than sensory appeal. This tiny masterpiece reflects the artist's work as a designer for woodblocks. Rather than depicting illusory space, Ding aimed for powerful surface design: an interplay of textures and patterns massed as coherent units across the fan.ProvenanceJean-Pierre Dubosc, Lugano Switzerland
On View
Not on viewCollections
Chinese
early 15th century, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Chinese
11th or 12th century, Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127)
