Old Pine Tree

late 1530s

Wen Zhengming

Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470–1559)

Chinese Art

Old Pine Tree, late 1530s. Wen Zhengming (Chinese, 1470–1559). Handscroll, ink on paper; painting: 28 x 139.3 cm (11 x 54 13/16 in.); overall: 29.3 x 596.9 cm (11 9/16 x 235 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1964.43

Original Source

Maker/Artist: Wen Zhengming
Classification: Painting
Formatted Medium: handscroll, ink on paper
Medium: handscroll, ink, paper
Dimensions: Painting: 28 x 139.3 cm (11 x 54 13/16 in.); Overall: 29.3 x 596.9 cm (11 9/16 x 235 in.)
Inscribed: Inscription: 變化勢難縛，虬髯似戟森. 徵明 [印]文徵明印; 衡山 Translation: Artist's inscription, signature, and 2 seals: The force of change is beyond restraint;/ The dragon’s whiskers are likened to a forest of spears. Zhengming [seals] Wen Zhengming yin; Hengshan Inscription: 2 partial seals of Qian Shisheng 錢士昇 (1575-1652) Remark: The seals were transcribed as 魏塘貴主 "Wei tang gui zhu" and 魏塘錢氏賜... "Wei tang qian shi ci..." in the Shiqu Baoji 石渠寶笈, the 1745 catalogue of the Qing imperial collection of Chinese painting and calligraphy. Weitang 魏塘 refers to Jiashan 嘉善, a city in Northern Zhejiang province near Jiaxing 嘉興. Qiang Shisheng 錢士昇 (1575–1652) had a studio by the name of Ciyu Tang 賜餘堂. Thus, In his 2015 Silent Poetry catalogue, Ju-hsi Chou proposed that the reading for these seals should be “Wei tang yi lao” 魏塘遺老 (An old survivor in Weitang) and “Wei tang qian shi ci yu tang should cang yin” 魏塘錢氏賜餘堂收藏印 (Collection seal for Ciyu Tang of the Qian clan of Weitang). Inscription: 8 imperial seals: 6 of the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736-95); 1 of the Jiaqing emperor (r. 1796-1821); 1 of the Xuantong emperor (r. 1909-11).
Departments: Chinese Art
Accession Number: 1964.43
Credit Line: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Exhibitions: Year in Review (1964), The Colors of Ink, Visions of Landscape: East and West, Powerful Form and Potent Symbol: The Dragon in Asia, Silent Poetry: Masterworks of Chinese Painting, Mostra d'arte cinese (Settimo centenario di Marco Polo). Palazzo Ducale, Venice, Italy (1954)., The Art of Wen Cheng-ming. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (January 25-February 29, 1976); Asia House Gallery, New York, NY (April 7-June 7, 1976), Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (November 7, 1980-January 4, 1981); The Cleveland Museum of Art (February 10-March 29, 1981); Tokyo National Museum (October 4-November 17, 1982)., Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 242). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (July 28, 2014-January 7, 2015).
Rights Statement: CC0