Tall Bamboo and Distant Mountains, after Wang Meng

1694

Wang Hui

Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632–1717)

Chinese Art

Tall Bamboo and Distant Mountains, after Wang Meng, 1694. Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632–1717). Hanging scroll, ink on paper; overall: 79.3 x 39.5 cm (31 1/4 x 15 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1953.629

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Wang Hui
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: hanging scroll, ink on paper
Medium: hanging, scroll, ink, paper
Dimensions: Overall: 79.3 x 39.5 cm (31 1/4 x 15 9/16 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: 昔文湖州有暮靄橫看。宋思陵題識卷首：觀其筆力不在郭煕之下。於樹石間寫叢竹，乃自其肺腑中流出，又不可以筆墨畦徑觀也。子文廣文出紙求畫修竹遠山。惜乎僕之筆力，不能似郭。又敢彷彿湖州也哉？至若拙朴鄙野，縱意塗抹，聊可以寫一時之趣。姑塞廣文之雅意云。黃鶴山中人王蒙書。歲次甲戌九月望後三日為冝翁先生臨于長安寓齋。海虞, 王翬。[印]王翬之印; 石谷子. Translation: Artist's inscription, signature, and 2 seals: In the past, Wen Huzhou [Wen Tong,1018-1079] painted A View of Evening Mist Seen in Horizontal Manner. [His Majesty] Siling of Song [Zhao Gou 趙構; Gaozong 高宗] inscribed the following at the beginning of the scroll: “I observed that the strength of his brush is by no means inferior to that of Guo Xi. When he depicted the grove of bamboo amid trees and rocks, the inspiration came directly from his heart and cannot be narrowly defined by brush and ink.” Professor Ziwen [Cao Kongzhang 曹孔章] brought out a piece of paper and requested a painting with the title Tall Bamboo and Distant Mountains. Regrettably, the strength of my brush hardly compares to that of Guo [Xi]. How dare I even remotely be compared to Huzhou? Indeed, my own painting is awkward, unpolished, rustic, and unruly; my mind wanders, and my brush smears and sweeps the ink. I might attempt just a little timely engagement in order to satisfy the professor’s elegant desires. I, Wang Meng of Mt. Huanghe, so inscribed. Jiaxu year [1694], ninth month, eighteenth day, copied for Mr. Yiweng at the residence at Chang’an. Haiyu, Wang Hui. [seals] Wang Hui zhi yin; Shi gu zi. Inscription: 3 additional seals: 1 of Pang Yuanji 龐元濟 (1864–1949); 2 unidentified.
Departments: Chinese Art
Accession Number: 1953.629
Credit Line: John L. Severance Fund
Exhibitions: The Colors of Ink, Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, <em>Chinese Landscape Painting</em>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5-December 26, 1954).
Rights Statement: CC0