Collection Online as of September 30, 2023

Mt. Taibo in the Style of Wang Meng

1442

Du Qiong 杜瓊

(Chinese, 1396–1474)

China, Ming dynasty

(1368–1644)

Handscroll, ink and light color on paper

Painting: 29.8 x 527.1 cm (11 3/4 x 207 1/2 in.); Overall: 30.6 x 976.7 cm (12 1/16 x 384 1/2 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1968.195

Location

not on view

Description

When a Chinese painter "imitated" a painting by a past master, the intention was never to produce an exact copy. Du Qiong, the Ming painter from Suzhou, is a case in point. The painting style of this handscroll is actually closer to that of Huang Gongwang (1269–1354) than to the style of Wang Meng (about 1301–1385). Both masters were active during the previous dynasty and are among the so-called Four Great Masters of the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368). In this painting, the interplay of styles, including Du Qiong's own, contribute to an inner dimension that is more than visual. Mt. Taibo is located in the province of Zhejiang and is known for its scenic beauty. In this scroll, however, it is not depicted literally. The image is an ideal representation of mountains in southeastern China.

Inscriptions

Inscription

Artist's inscription, signature, and 11 seals: [1 seal] Tung-yüan chai. Huang-ho-shan-ch'iao [Wang Meng] painted a painted called T'ai-po Mountain. Its brushwork is superior and admirable, which is very close to Yu-ch'en [Wang Wei, 699-759]. The cleverness of its composition, the maple groves and rustic temples, the inaccessible ravines and autumnal plateaus, the periolous peaks and strange rocks, etc., all seem to be so natural. The paper is only a little over eight feet, but the landscape has the range of a thousand miles. Once you open and note the contents, it is as if one were roaming among the mountain peaks enveloped in mist and clouds, and forgot the dusty world. When I first saw this, I was so mixed with excitement and joy that I could not take my hands off the painting. So I put it on the table, and tried my best to imitate it, forgetting sleeping and eating for about three months before it was completed. Although I do not dare to tread in the footsteps of Huang-ho shan ch'iao, I took great pains to capture his spirit in composition and colors. I do not know whether it would pass the judgment of the experts. On the fifteenth day of the fifth month, the seventh year of the Cheng-t'ung year [1442], inscribed by Tung-yüan, Tu Chiung. [2 seals] Yung-chia; Ching-chieh ming-men. [8 seals on painting] Tung-yüan chai; Ching-chieh ming-men; Yung-chia; Tu Ch'iung yin; Tung-yüan (repeated 5 times). trans. WKH/LYSL 3 colophons and 7 additional seals: 1 colophon and 2 seals of Chou Ting (1401-1487); 1 colophon and 2 seals of Wu K'uan (1435-1504); 1 colophon, dated 1655, and 2 seals of Lan Ying (1585-after 1664).

Provenance

?–1968

(Mrs. Angela Tseng, New Hampshire, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1968–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Exhibition history

Cleveland Museum of Art, 1981: Eight Dynasties of Chinese Painting, cat. no. 147, p. 174-176.

Year in Review: 1968. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 29-March 9, 1969).