Seeking Verses Among Autumn Mountains
ca. 1800
Chinese landscape painting is often an act of remembrance rather than a depiction of a specific place. In this inscription, Huang Yi recalls the inspiration of seeing the brushwork of another Qing-dynasty painter, Lu Fei (1719–after 1778), who is “transcendently uninhibited; one look, and you realize it is the brushwork of a man who has dined on mists!” He expresses this feeling with an image that is barely there, using a scratchy brush and very little ink. Scholars today also describe Huang’s deep knowledge of ancient calligraphy inscribed in stone monuments and his accomplishments as a seal carver as stylistic sources for his painting and calligraphy.
Ink on paper
Overall: 56 1/8 x 20 1/16 in. (142.5 x 51 cm)
Image: 27 5/16 x 9 13/16 in. (69.4 x 25 cm)
Gift of the Asian Art Council in memory of Ann Woods
2008.21
Provenance: Duoyunxuan Auction, Shanghai, 28 December 2005, lot 107;
Paul Moss, London, England, 2006-2008
Photo: Elizabeth Mann
