Poem on a River Sojourn
明 王鐸 行書宿江上詩 軸 絹本
Wang Duo’s style is marked by calculated imbalances. In this scroll, he twists the right sides of his characters outward, creating a studied awkwardness that appealed to the seventeenth-century taste for the rough and bold. Some scholars link Wang’s style to the turmoil of the times, when the native Ming dynasty was conquered by invaders, known as the Manchus, who established the Qing dynasty in 1644. Wang was a high official in the Ming court, and when the dynasty fell, he followed the refugee court south to Nanjing, where it held on for another year. It was during this time, in 1645, that Wang made this work.
Wang Duo’s style is marked by calculated imbalances. In this scroll, he twists the right sides of his characters outward, creating a studied awkwardness that appealed to the seventeenth-century taste for the rough and bold. Some scholars link Wang’s style to the turmoil of the times, when the native Ming dynasty was conquered by invaders, known as the Manchus, who established the Qing dynasty in 1644. Wang was a high official in the Ming court, and when the dynasty fell, he followed the refugee court south to Nanjing, where it held on for another year. It was during this time, in 1645, that Wang made this work.
Artwork Details
- 明 王鐸 行書宿江上詩 軸 絹本
- Title: Poem on a River Sojourn
- Calligrapher: Wang Duo (Chinese, 1592–1652)
- Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
- Date: 1645
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on silk
- Dimensions: Image: 95 × 23 in. (241.3 × 58.4 cm)
Overall with mounting: 103 3/4 × 30 1/2 in. (263.5 × 77.5 cm)
Overall with knobs: 103 3/4 × 34 in. (263.5 × 86.4 cm) - Classification: Calligraphy
- Credit Line: Lent by Guanyuan Shanzhuang Collection
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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