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A dream journey to the mountains and rivers

• Artist

  Wang Hui

• Year

  1702

• Media

  Handscroll (section), ink on paper

• Dimensions

  24.2 x 379 cm

• Museum No.

  XB1992.0130

• Artist Bio

  Born to a literati family in Jiangsu province, Wang Hui, courtesy name Shigu, also known as Gengyan Sanren or Qinghui Zhuren, started to paint landscapes in the style of Huang Gongwang in his early years, but his painting skills improved immeasurably under the direct tutelage of Wang Jian and Wang Shimin. These two masters and their student Wang Hui, together with Wang Yuanqi, are collectively known as the Four Wangs, with Wang Hui later becoming one of the leading masters of the Orthodox School.

• Description

  Wang Hui was summoned by the emperor Kangxi to the capital in 1691 to supervise the production of a series of handscrolls intended to record the imperial tour of inspection to southern China, and this handscroll was completed following his return from the capital. Wang had once proclaimed that perfection in painting could be achieved by employing the techniques of ancient artists, in particular the Song and Yuan masters, and the inscription here suggests that this scroll was executed in the styles of the Song master Juran and the Yuan artist Wang Meng. The mist swirling across the mountain slope and the alum stones on the hilltops are elements derived from Juran, while the curling “ox-hair” brushstrokes that model the rocks and hills are a hallmark of Wang Meng. On the other hand, the “hemp-fibre texture strokes”, the rows of small trees on the mountain ridges and the composition of the landscape are reminiscent of another great Yuan master Huang Gongwang, and, in combining the different styles of these old masters, the painting serves to exemplify Wang Hui’s skilful eclecticism.

• —Xubaizhai Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art

• More information
  Hong Kong Museum of Art Google Arts & Culture