Two literati paintings by the Ming dynasty masters Shen Zhou (1427-1509) and Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) at an exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art form interesting comparisons between the teacher and his student.
Shen painted Little Qian in the Study (1483) at age 56 while his student Wen painted Thatched Hall of Yuan River (1551) at age 81. Although the two paintings were created 68 years apart, they shared similarities.
Together with Tang Yin (1470-1524) and Qiu Ying (1494-1552), they are the four masters of the Wu School from Suzhou.
Instead of scholars, Shen features a rare protagonist, diligent 11-year-old Qian, who was able to recite Mencius and was expected to be a senior official like his family members. Scholars seeking for reclusion are featured in most literati paintings and the lads depicted are usually their servant boys. This makes the painting unique. However, the composition and the mountainscape featured in this painting are typical of the literati paintings. Shen was known for his refine brushwork style under the influence of Huang Gongwang (1269-1354), one of the Yuan masters, before 40 years old, and his bold brushwork under the influence of another Yuan master Wang Meng (1308-85) after 40, which can be seen from the jagged and the axe-cut strokes delineating the rocks and the mountains.
In Wen’s painting, two gentlemen are gathering at a studio with a servant boy serving tea. Besides, there is a man strolling on the lower right, at the middle foreground under a tree is a scholar in a fishing boat, and at the left upper background is a fisherman. Wen’s typical blue-and-green landscape and meticulous brushstrokes can be seen, which was under the influence of Yuan master Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322).
Both paintings evoke archaic feeling and a sense of tranquility.
Where: Chih Lo Lou Collection of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 4/F, HKMOA
When: Till February 7 2021
Little Qian in the Study by Shen Zhou
