COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
mediaCollectionId
AMICO~1~1
The AMICA Library
Collection
true
AMICA ID:
ASIA.1979.123
amicoid
ASIA.1979.123
AMICA ID
false
AMICA Library Year:
1998
aly
1998
AMICA Library Year
false
Object Type:
Paintings
oty
Paintings
Object Type
false
Creator Name:
Lou Guan
crn
Lou Guan
Creator Name
false
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
crc
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Nationality
false
Creator Dates/Places:
Active mid- to late 13th century
cdt
Active mid- to late 13th century
Creator Dates/Places
false
Creator Name-CRT:
Lou Guan
crt
Lou Guan
Creator Name-CRT
false
Title:
Xie An at East Mountain
otn
Xie An at East Mountain
Title
false
View:
Full view
rid
Full view
View
false
Creation Date:
Southern Song to Yuan period, late 13th century
oct
Southern Song to Yuan period, late 13th century
Creation Date
false
Creation Start Date:
1267
ocs
1267
Creation Start Date
false
Creation End Date:
1299
oce
1299
Creation End Date
false
Materials and Techniques:
Ink and slight color on silk
omd
Ink and slight color on silk
Materials and Techniques
false
Creation Place:
China
ocp
China
Creation Place
false
Dimensions:
69 x 34 3/4 in. (175.3 x 88.3 cm)
met
69 x 34 3/4 in. (175.3 x 88.3 cm)
Dimensions
false
AMICA Contributor:
Asia Society
oon
Asia Society
AMICA Contributor
false
Owner Location:
New York, New York, USA
oop
New York, New York, USA
Owner Location
false
ID Number:
1979.123
ooa
1979.123
ID Number
false
Credit Line:
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
ooc
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
Credit Line
false
Parts and Pieces:
hanging scroll
opp
hanging scroll
Parts and Pieces
false
Rights:
orl
<a href="http://www.asiasociety.org"target="_new">http://www.asiasociety.org</a>
Rights
false
Context:
Since at least the Northern Song period (960-1126), landscape paintings have played a critical role in Chinese art, culture, and thought, and they have been imbued with many interrelated levels of meaning. Landscape paintings have been seen as metaphors for religious and personal development, as statements of individual or cultural values, and as political icons, and they were an important means of communication among educated individuals, particularly the group of artists who have traditionally been classified as literati or scholar-gentlemen (wenjen). The perfection of this art form in the hands of these literati artists has been understood to reflect the self-cultivation and depth of knowledge of this group of painters.
This painting, entitled Xie An at East Mountain and attributed to the artist Lou Guan, combines the monumentality and intimacy typical of Chinese landscape painting. The composition includes three different points of view: the foreground is seen from above; the middle ground is seen straight ahead; and the background is seen from below. This tripartite perspective, a salient feature of Chinese landscapes, allows the painting to convey more information than would be available by merely presenting a given landscape from a single viewpoint. In this painting, it also enhances the sense of monumentality.
A more intimate tradition of Chinese landscape painting is invoked, however, in the placement of the figures, one in the left middle ground and the others on a diagonal in the right foreground. This compositional device was used to direct the viewer's attention to a specific area within a broader composition. The monumental tradition is generally associated with the art of the Northern Song period, while the more intimate style was begun at the Southern Song court (1126-1279). The interplay between these two compositional devices lies at the heart of subsequent Chinese landscape painting, and both were reused and redefined over th
cxd
Since at least the Northern Song period (960-1126), landscape paintings have played a critical role in Chinese art, culture, and thought, and they have been imbued with many interrelated levels of meaning. Landscape paintings have been seen as metaphors for religious and personal development, as statements of individual or cultural values, and as political icons, and they were an important means of communication among educated individuals, particularly the group of artists who have traditionally been classified as literati or scholar-gentlemen (<I>wenjen</I>). The perfection of this art form in the hands of these literati artists has been understood to reflect the self-cultivation and depth of knowledge of this group of painters.<P>This painting, entitled <I>Xie An at East Mountain</I> and attributed to the artist Lou Guan, combines the monumentality and intimacy typical of Chinese landscape painting. The composition includes three different points of view: the foreground is seen from above; the middle ground is seen straight ahead; and the background is seen from below. This tripartite perspective, a salient feature of Chinese landscapes, allows the painting to convey more information than would be available by merely presenting a given landscape from a single viewpoint. In this painting, it also enhances the sense of monumentality.</P><P>A more intimate tradition of Chinese landscape painting is invoked, however, in the placement of the figures, one in the left middle ground and the others on a diagonal in the right foreground. This compositional device was used to direct the viewer's attention to a specific area within a broader composition. The monumental tradition is generally associated with the art of the Northern Song period, while the more intimate style was begun at the Southern Song court (1126-1279). The interplay between these two compositional devices lies at the heart of subsequent Chinese landscape painting, and both were reused and redefined over th
Context
false
Related Document Description:
Suzuki, Kei, and Richard Barnhart. Painters of the Great Ming: The Imperial Court and the Zhe School. Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1993, pp. 36-37.
rdd
Suzuki, Kei, and Richard Barnhart. Painters of the Great Ming: The Imperial Court and the Zhe School. Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1993, pp. 36-37.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 57.
rdd
Asia Society. <I>Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection.</I> New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 57.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Cahill, James. An Index of Early Chinese Painters and Painting: T'ang, Sung, and Yüan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980, p. 141.
rdd
Cahill, James. <I>An Index of Early Chinese Painters and Painting: T'ang, Sung, and Yüan.</I> Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980, p. 141.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Mowry, Robert D. 'Figures in a Mountain Landscape: An Attribution to Lou Guan.' Apollo (November 1983), pp. 384-93.
rdd
Mowry, Robert D. 'Figures in a Mountain Landscape: An Attribution to Lou Guan.' <I>Apollo</I> (November 1983), pp. 384-93.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Suzuki, Kei. Kaigai Shozai Chugoku Kaiga Mokuroku: Amerika-Kanada (A Catalogue of Chinese Paintings in Foreign Collections: America-Canada). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Institute of Oriental Studies, 1977, p. 19.
rdd
Suzuki, Kei. <I>Kaigai Shozai Chugoku Kaiga Mokuroku: Amerika-Kanada</I> (A Catalogue of Chinese Paintings in Foreign Collections: America-Canada). Tokyo: University of Tokyo Institute of Oriental Studies, 1977, p. 19.
Related Document Description
false
Related Document Description:
Suzuki, Kei. Chugoku Kaiga Sogo Zuroku (Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Paintings), vol. 1, America and Canadian Collections. Tokyo: University of Tokyo, 1982, pp. I-90, I-438.
rdd
Suzuki, Kei. <I>Chugoku Kaiga Sogo Zuroku</I> (Comprehensive Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Paintings), vol. 1, America and Canadian Collections. Tokyo: University of Tokyo, 1982, pp. I-90, I-438.
Related Document Description
false
Related Image Identifier Link:
ASIA.1979.123.a.tif
ril
ASIA.1979.123.a.tif
Related Image Identifier Link
false