Northern Song (960–1127) or Jin (1115–1234) dynasty
Not on view
As he hits his prey, the hunter on his pony is ready with a second arrow in his left hand. The powerful horse is shown in an animated “flying gallop,” with bulging muscles suggesting the frenzied excitement of the chase, while the delicately rendered deer presents a moving portrait of a gentle victim and death.
Hunting was an ancient aristocratic pastime, especially favored as a pictorial theme by the naturalized nomad painter Prince Li Zanhua, to whom this painting was once attributed. By the late Northern Song period, scholar-critics had begun to treat the hunting scene as an allegory of violence and greed. Both the painting style and the psychological interpretation of the subject matter suggest an early-twelfth-century date for this work.
An unusually fine collection of colophons is attached to the scroll. In 1352 Zhu Derun (1294–1365) attributed the painting to Li Zanhua. Three other fourteenth-century colophons are followed by a poem by the great Suzhou painter Shen Zhou (1427–1509). The senselessness of violence, as portrayed by the hunt, is lamented by all the colophon writers
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To the right is The Stag Hunt by Prince Dongdan, Li Zanhua. According to his biography in historical documents, Zanhua was the eldest son of Emperor Taizu (r. 916–926) of the Liao dynasty (916–1125). During the Tongguang reign (923–926), in order to escape the persecution of the Heir Apparent, [Yelü] Deguang [who became Liao Taizong, r. 927–947], he crossed the sea and reached Dengzhou [in Shandong Province]. There he pledged allegiance to Emperor Mingzong (r. 925–933) of the Later Tang dynasty (923–936) and, in return, was bestowed the [Chinese] surname "Li" and the position of Military Commissioner of the Huaihai commandery. He used to bring paintings and books with him when traveling. He liked to paint bow-carrying horsemen in hunting or excursions. Their clothing and accessories followed the rustic barbarian convention because that was what he was used to and comfortable with. His brushwork is smooth and fine, while the men and the horses appear dynamic, which truly captures the spirit of the High Tang period [8th century]. The painting, therefore, deserves to be treasured. It is the tenth day of the first month in the twelfth year of the Zhizheng reign era (January 27, 1352). Zhu Derun inscribed this.[1] [Seals]: Zhu shi Zeming, Meiyu Sanren
How vigorous are Dongdan [Li Zanhua] and his horse; At the sound of an arrow a stag is shot! From past to present, will the stag hunt ever end? How the world is upset by the clamorous lot! Hunters always win, and will laugh at the old men whose faces they have slapped. Yet win or lose, life is but an illusory dream.[2]
[2] Translation from Wen C. Fong, Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy 8th—14th Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, p. 34.
Marking:
[ Ellen B. Elliott , Princeton, NJ, 1981; sold to MMA]
New York. China Institute in America. "Power and Virtue: Images of the Horse in Chinese Art," September 13, 1997–December 13, 1997.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Traditional Scholarly Values at the End of the Qing Dynasty: The Collection of Weng Tonghe (1830–1904)," June 30–January 3, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Douglas Dillon Legacy: Chinese Painting for the Metropolitan Museum," March 12–August 8, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Chinese Painting from The Met Collection (Rotation One)," October 31, 2015–October 11, 2016.
Zhang Zhao 張照 et al. Midian zhulin shiqu baoji 秘殿珠林石渠寶笈 (Catalogue of painting and calligraphy in the Qianlong imperial collection). Preface dated 1745. Facsimile reprint of an original manuscript copy. vol. 1, Taipei: National Palace Museum, 1971, pp. 955–56.
Cahill, James. An Index of Early Chinese Painters and Paintings: T'ang, Sung, and Yüan. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980.
Suzuki Kei 鈴木敬, ed. Chûgoku kaiga sogo zuroku: Daiikan, Amerika-Kanada Hen 中國繪畫總合圖錄: 第一卷 アメリカ - カナダ 編 (Comprehensive illustrated catalog of Chinese paintings: vol. 1 American and Canadian collections) Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1982, pp. 148–49, cat. no. A17-090.
Fong, Wen C. Beyond Representation: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy, 8th–14th Century. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992, pp. 32–33, pl. 4.
Wu Qizhen 吳其貞. Wang shi shanhu wang minghua tiba 汪氏珊瑚網名畫題跋 (Inscriptions on famous paintings from a coral net). Preface dated 1643, juan 8. Reprinted in Zhongguo shuhua quanshu 中國書畫全書(Compendium of classical publications on Chinese painting and calligraphy) Edited by Lu Fusheng 盧輔聖. Shanghai: Shanghai shuhua chubanshe, 1993–2000, vol. 8, p. 107.
Harrist, Robert E. Jr., and Virginia Bower. Power and Virtue: The Horse in Chinese Art. Exh. cat. New York: China Institute in America, 1997, pp. 82–83, cat. no. 16.
Yang Zhenguo 杨振国. Haiwai cang Zhongguo lidai ming hua: Liao, Jin, Xixia, Yuan 海外藏中国历代名画: 辽, 金, 西夏, 元 (Famous paintings of successive periods in overseas collections) Edited by Lin Shuzhong 林树中. vol. 4, Changsha: Hunan meishu chubanshe, 1998, p. 4, pl. 2.
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