Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Scholars in the Orchid Pavilion Gathering
Wu Wei Chinese
Not on view
In an unconventional move, Wu Wei employed the album format to create a close-up portrayal of individual participants in the famous Orchid Pavilion Gathering. Each painting features a single scholar sitting by a stream, on which float lotus leaves carrying wine cups. The swaying plants and the lively contour lines of the drapery capture the gentle stirring in the air. The men’s varied postures and activities reveal their temperaments and moods. Two appear absorbed, one contemplating the flowing water and the other an unfurled scroll. Another scholar is caught at a moment of distraction: ready to write with a brush lifted high in his right hand, he seems to have turned suddenly to gaze to his left. Most provocatively, a smiling man leans back on his arms, exposing his bared chest and protruding belly in total disregard of social decorum, a pose that epitomizes the free spirit of the event.
