Object Details
Artist
Qian Du
Date
late 18th-early 19th century
Medium
Ink on paper; double leaf album
Dimensions
Image: 8 1/4 x 10 3/4 inches (21 x 27.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Daisy Yen Wu in memory of Yen Hsiao-fang and Yen Tse-king
Object
Number
83.128.001
Qian Du hailed from Renhe, in the Hangzhou area of Zhejiang province. He was originally named Qian Y(…)
Qian Du hailed from Renhe, in the Hangzhou area of Zhejiang province. He was originally named Qian Yu; his zi was Shumei and his hao was Hugong or Songhu Xiaoying, common sobriquets that can be seen in the signatures and seals here. As a scholar-official, Qian Du excelled at painting, poetry, and calligraphy by studying earlier masters’ works. His landscapes adopted the refined style of Wang Meng (1308–1385) of the Four Masters of Late Yuan, particularly in the “ox-ear-hair strokes.” This page depicts idealized literati activities and might even reflect Qian Du’s state of mind. The mountains, rocks, and other elements are unified by fine brushstrokes derived from early literati masters, but Qian Du employs them to create his own trademark style. (“Tradition, Transmission, and Transformation in East Asian Art,” curated by Cornell PhD student Yuhua Ding under the supervision of Ellen Avril and presented at the Johnson Museum January 23-June 12, 2016)
