Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day
Zhao Yuan was a member of Suzhou literary circles and a close friend of many late Yuan scholar-painters, including Ni Zan (1306-1374) and Wang Meng (ca. 1308-1385).
Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day is painted in a style similar to that of Wang Meng. Wang's powerfully expressive brushwork here becomes a vivacious pictorial surface. Zhao's use of dots is especially remarkable; varying in size, shape, darkness, and touch, they not only serve a representational function but also effectively control the overall texture and tonality of the painting. Zhao Yuan's career, like that of many other notable Jiangnan painters, was cut short by the first Ming emperor (r. 1368-98), a man of humble origins who was deeply suspicious of the Suzhou intelligentsia. After summoning Zhao to Nanjing to serve as a painter, the emperor took offense at something Zhao did and had him executed.
Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day is painted in a style similar to that of Wang Meng. Wang's powerfully expressive brushwork here becomes a vivacious pictorial surface. Zhao's use of dots is especially remarkable; varying in size, shape, darkness, and touch, they not only serve a representational function but also effectively control the overall texture and tonality of the painting. Zhao Yuan's career, like that of many other notable Jiangnan painters, was cut short by the first Ming emperor (r. 1368-98), a man of humble origins who was deeply suspicious of the Suzhou intelligentsia. After summoning Zhao to Nanjing to serve as a painter, the emperor took offense at something Zhao did and had him executed.
Artwork Details
- 元 趙原 晴川送客圖 軸
- Title: Farewell by a Stream on a Clear Day
- Artist: Zhao Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1350–75)
- Period: Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
- Date: second half 14th century
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 37 1/2 x 13 7/8 in. (95.3 x 35.2 cm)
Overall with mounting: 77 1/4 x 20 1/2 in. (196.2 x 52.1 cm)
Overall with knobs: 77 1/4 x 23 3/8 in. (196.2 x 59.4 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Ex coll.: C. C. Wang Family, Purchase, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, 1973
- Object Number: 1973.121.8
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Zhao Yuan
late 14th century
China
ca. 1319
Ni Zan
dated 1372
Unidentified artist
mid-12th century
Huang Tingjian
ca. 1095
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