Dong Qichang's "Gift to Jingtao Antique Landscape" is a Ming Dynasty ink painting with profound artistic value and historical significance.
Creation year: Ming Dynasty, specifically March 3, 39th year of Wanli (1611) in the Ming Dynasty. Painting Type: Ink Painting. Material: Silk. Number of panels: Eight original titles, seven extant. Dimensions: 30.7 cm in length and 28.3 cm in width. It is now in the collection of the Palace Museum.
Dong Qichang (1555-1636), known as Xuanzai, Sibai, also known as Xiangguang Jushi, was a native of Huating (now Songjiang, Shanghai). He was a famous calligrapher, painter, connoisseur and theorist in the Ming Dynasty, and had a profound influence on the art of painting and calligraphy in later generations. The album "Gift to Jingtao Antique Landscape" is made by Dong Qichang for his friend Jingtao, which reflects Dong Qichang's artistic style of tracing the ancients in the creation of calligraphy and painting.
The volume consists of seven pages, each of which is modeled after the brushwork of ancient masters, showing different landscapes and brush and ink techniques. The following are the main contents of each opening:
The first opening: imitating Huang Gongwang's brushwork, depicting the scene of seclusion in the mountains. The distant view of the peaks and slopes of the rocks is staggered, and the near view of the stream flows out of the forest to the back of the mountain, the forest is verdant, quiet and quiet.
The second opening: imitating the brushwork and composition of Ni Zan in the Yuan Dynasty, highlighting the state of miscellaneous trees with Pingyuan's chapter method and light and sparse brushwork. Behind the tree, you can see the distant mountains of Xiting, and the stacked slope stones are hooked and stripped, and the ink color changes appropriately.
The third opening: imitation of the Yellow Crane Mountain Qiao (Wang Meng) brushwork, using a river-side composition. There is a group of miscellaneous trees on the slope stone in the near view, and the painting method of the distant mountain is to cover the linen, and the solution is used interchangeably, and the moss is dotted with a thirsty pen from time to time, and there is the law of Wang Meng's legacy.
The fourth opening: the picture of the creek, the forest house, the small bridge, the pavilion and the distant mountain. The mountains and rocks are hooked and stripped, thin and rigid, curved and tough, with a slight Ni Zan brushwork.
The fifth opening: In the picture, the cliffs and trees on the side of the stream are towering, and the thatched huts in front of the trees are surrounded by streams, which has the atmosphere of a distant water town.
The sixth opening: imitating Mi Yuanhui's brushwork, the picture is a close-up of trees on the bank of the stream, a distant view of peaks and peaks, and clouds and mist. It shows the unpredictable natural scenery of the south of the Yangtze River.
The seventh opening: the picture of the jungle in the near view, the river is wide, and the mountains are stacked in the distance. The pen is mainly based on Huang Gongwang's technique, and the brushwork is mellow and dyed, and the artistic conception is profound.
Dong Qichang showed his exquisite pen and ink skills and profound artistic accomplishment in the album "Gift to Jingtao Antique Landscape". By imitating the ancient and not sticking to the ancient, he skillfully integrated the brushwork and composition of the ancient masters into his own creations, forming a unique artistic style. At the same time, he pursues the effect of first ripening and then giving birth in the use of brush and ink, which reflects the plain and naïve personality of the literati in his creation.
