Chinese Art 5. The Ming Dynasty – Later Period Pinyin spelling mostly approximates to English pronunciation apart from, notably, Q = “ch” in cheap. X =”sh” in sham. Zh = “j” in jasmine. Z = “ds” hands. C = “ts” as in tsar. Names are given with surnames first Contents Female Artists................................................................................................................................................ 3 Professionals ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Wen Shu (also known as Zhao Wenchu, 1595-1634) ...................................................................... 4 Courtesans ................................................................................................................................................... 7 Ma Shouzhen (1548-1604) .................................................................................................................... 7 New Bird and Flower Painting ................................................................................................................. 14 Chen Daofu (also called Chen Chun, 1483-1544) ............................................................................... 15 Xu Wei (1521-1593) ................................................................................................................................. 17 Dong Qichang (1555-1636) ....................................................................................................................... 21 Theory of Southern and Northern Schools ........................................................................................... 22 Landscape paintings ................................................................................................................................ 22 Other Late Ming Landscapes................................................................................................................... 30 Revival of Northern Song ........................................................................................................................ 30 Wu Bin (1550? – 1630s/40s)............................................................................................................... 31 Lan Ying (c 1585 – 1664) .................................................................................................................... 33 An Excursion into Naturalism .................................................................................................................. 36 Portraiture ..................................................................................................................................................... 39 Chen Hongshou (1599 – 1652) .............................................................................................................. 41 References.................................................................................................................................................... 46 Female Artists Professionals The thriving art market in the Ming dynasty had two consequences. First, fake works became common. Some popular artists used pupils and assistants as substitute brushes (dai bi) to turn out works in their style, which the master would then sign. This practice, also common in European art at this time, has continued up to the present day. Some dai bi set up their own shops and an industry of forgers developed in Suzhou. It fed the demand that Tang Yin and Qiu Ying had aroused, and turning out thousands of routine copies in the styles of Ming scholar artists, with which rich Chinese merchants were duped1. The second consequence was a growth in demand for art for women among the gentry, merchants and the middle class. Mostly this took the form of presentation pieces to be given as gifts on wedding days and anniversaries, prior to the expected date of child-birth or as consolation after a loved one was lost: paintings with themes of particular relevance to women. Such pieces came to be considered more felicitous if produced by a female. Thus, the middle and late Ming saw a burgeoning demand among women for works of art by women. Daughters and sisters of scholars or professional artists responded. Qiu Ying’s daughter, Zhu, known as Miss Qiu (active c 1550-80), was a professional artist famous particularly for images in gold ink of Guanyin, regarded foremost as the protector of women. The bodhisattva also came to be venerated as a sender of sons in the 16th and 17th centuries; a manifestation of Guanyin influenced by the Christian image of the Virgin Mary, brought to Ming China by Catholic missionaries. Although Miss Qiu married, she preferred living alone, “burning incense, playing the qin, cleaning the inkstone and wielding the brush”. Her works were mainly commissioned as birthday gifts. Miss Qui, Guanyin and Falling Child (from an album of 24 Portraits of Guanyin), late 16th century 1 Young titled Englishmen on the Grand Tour were conned frequently in a similar way in Italy: exploited by their knowledge of famous artistic names but ignorance of style and technique. Hundreds of paintings in National Trust properties in England are labelled ‘in the manner of … ‘or ‘School of …’: the result of an expert being called in after the returning Honourable had proclaimed: “Daddy, I bought a Titian”. Another famous painter of Guanyin in gold was Xing Cijing (1573-1640s), younger sister of famous calligrapher Xing Dong (1551-1612) and wife of a provincial commissioner excelled in painting, poetry and calligraphy and also embroidery. She was well known for depictions of Guanyin in gold on dark ground. This example has her calligraphy forming a eulogy to Guanyin. Wen Shu (also known as Zhao Wenchu, 1595- 1634) Wen Zhengming’s great-granddaughter, Shu, learnt to paint as one of the accomplishments of an upper-class lady. Before she was 20, she married Zhao Jun, a descendant of the Song imperial family and a relative of Zhao Mengfu. The couple and their in-laws lived in refinement amid their gardens and pavilions just outside Suzhou. Wen Shu’s paintings were done mostly after 1626, when the death of her father-in-law left the family finances in a precarious state. Wen Shu’s motifs were popular with women: begonia (associated with consolation for the lovelorn); iris (to encourage the bearing of sons, also to promote intelligence and prolong life); day lily (to ease the pains of childbirth, and to bear sons); silkworms (sericulture being the responsibility of women). Butterflies (like rocks) signify long life because their name in Chinese has the same sound as the word for a septuagenarian. Pictures of lilies, rocks and butterflies were popular as wedding gifts. Wen Shu was widely forged, so her husband, who loved to watch his wife paint, would sometimes inscribe her work to help distinguish it from copies. Wen Shu was sought after throughout her life as a painting tutor for young ladies. Xing Cijing, Guanyin, Bodhisattva of Mercy, early 17th century Wen Shu, Rock, Tiger Lily and Orchid, 1627 Wen Shu, Spring Silkworms Feeding on Leaves, 1630 Embroidery was mentioned as one of Xing Cijing’s skills. Although not regarded as high art, needlework was considered (by men) to be the foremost female accomplishment. Silk embroidery became popular during the Song dynasty. Zhu Kerou in the Song dynasty was famous for her Kesi Tapestry, of which Dong Qichang (who will be met soon) wrote: “The needlework of Song embroidery is fine and tight, using only one or two strands of floss and needles as thin as hair. The application of colour is exquisite and delicate, with a brilliance that dazzles the eye. The landscapes distinguish far and near; the towers and pavilions obtain a real existence in space; the human figures all give the feeling of life-like movement seen from afar; and the flowers and birds have an extremely mild animated air. The best examples are superior to painting.” Han Ximeng (active 1630s - 1650s) was the most famous silk artist of the Ming dynasty. She was the wife of Dong Qichang’s student Gu Shouqian. The female members of the Gu family with whom Han lived in Shanghai in the Dew Fragrance Garden were renowned for their needlework skills. They approached embroidery as members of her husband’s social circle did painting, by looking at ancients and copying famous works of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Han Ximeng, Washing a Horse, 1634 (silk embroidery) Washing a Horse is from an album of copies of Song and Yuan dynasty paintings by Han Ximeng. The works, produced using very fine thread, replicated the brushwork in the original, as is evident in the different rendering of the tree trunk (which looks like wet ink), the leaves and the patches on the horse. This ability to manifest different brushstrokes in fine silk thread was a hallmark of the Gu women. Their work supported the Gu family’s upper-class pretensions, taking advantage of the new market for art. Dong Qichang deeply appreciated Ximeng’s work and asked how she produced such skilful works. Her husband replied: In the sharp cold of winter, steamy heat of summer, windy darkness or rainy gloom, she does not dare undertake it, but when the sky is clear, the sun unclouded, the birds happy and the flowers fragrant, she absorbs the vitality of life before her eyes and stiches it into fine silk from Suzhou’ Gu embroideries were often catalogued by private collectors in the Ming dynasty on the same basis as paintings on paper or silk; as art rather