Landscape dedicated to Xiang Yuanbian
Wen Jia Chinese
Not on view
The second son of Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), Wen Jia followed the precedent of his father and his father's mentor, Shen Zhou (1427–1509), and developed a thorough mastery of the painting styles of the four great masters of the late Yuan dynasty. Here, Wen Jia re-created the style of the Yuan master Wu Zhen (1280–1354), with its softly contoured mountains defined in pale texture strokes set off by dark black foliage dots.
Wen painted this work for the famous art collector Xiang Yuanbian (1525–1590). In his longer inscription he transcribed the text of Summer Song, composed by the poet and official Huangfu Fang (1503–1582). In his shorter inscription he dedicated the painting to Xiang on the occasion of Xiang's fifty-fourth birthday. Xiang's enthusiasm for the work is attested to by the presence of fifteen of his seals.
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