Landscape in the Style of Guo Xi
Except for this painting, there are no other known references to the artist Tan Song. According to his inscription, he was inspired by the brush idiom of the eleventh-century landscape master Guo Xi. But it is clear from the painting’s style, content, and date that Tan was a close follower of Yuan Jiang (act. 1680–1730) and Yuan Yao (act. 1730–after 1778) and may well have assisted them in the family studio. Tan’s painting is modeled on similar compositions by both of the Yuans that also invoke Guo Xi as their stylistic source and similarly feature heavily laden ox carts moving through the mountains. Yet in his eagerness to emulate these masters, Tan Song has created a caricature of their manner. In Tan’s hands the Yuans’ exuberant style of brushwork for defining landscape features has become a frothy profusion of nervous squiggles and curlicues that no longer describe substantial forms. The same tendency toward overelaboration is also apparent in the profusion of narrative elements and genre details that Tan has scattered throughout his composition, including two oxcarts whose illogical destination seems to be the crest of the central peak.
Artwork Details
- 清 譚嵩 倣郭熙山水圖 軸
- Title: Landscape in the Style of Guo Xi
- Artist: Tan Song (Chinese, active mid–18th century)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: dated 1748
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk
- Dimensions: 32 3/4 × 41 1/4 in. (83.2 × 104.8 cm)
Overall with mounting: 78 1/8 × 43 1/2 in. (198.4 × 110.5 cm)
Overall with knobs: 78 1/8 × 47 in. (198.4 × 119.4 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1913
- Object Number: 13.220.122
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Central Tibet
ca. 1700
Leng Mei
18th century
Wang Hui
datable to 1698
Unidentified artist
late 17th–18th century
Itō Jakuchū
1755
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.