Enjoying the Wilderness in an Autumn Grove
Until the early 1340s, Ni Zan lived the life of a wealthy dilettante, spending his time among the precious books, antiques, and flowers of his Pure and Secluded Pavilion. His painting style at the time, as seen here, exhibits a studied archaism in which his interest in descriptive detail is at odds with his self-conscious use of calligraphic "hemp fiber" brushstrokes in the manner of tenth-century masters. Ni's gentleman seated in a rustic pavilion is shorthand for the scholar in his studio. His florid poem exhibits a similarly precious quality of one entirely absorbed in his immediate surroundings. It reads, in part:
In the bright days, bamboo wave in the breeze;
In the dark nights, parasols of fir hold up the moon.
Burning incense I use [a censer in the form of] a gilded duck;
Gathering scattered petals, I place them inside my pillow.
(trans. Wen Fong)
In the bright days, bamboo wave in the breeze;
In the dark nights, parasols of fir hold up the moon.
Burning incense I use [a censer in the form of] a gilded duck;
Gathering scattered petals, I place them inside my pillow.
(trans. Wen Fong)
Artwork Details
- 元 倪瓚 秋林野興圖 軸
- Title: Enjoying the Wilderness in an Autumn Grove
- Artist: Ni Zan (Chinese, 1306–1374)
- Period: Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
- Date: dated 1339
- Culture: China
- Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
- Dimensions: Image: 38 5/8 × 27 1/8 in. (98.1 × 68.9 cm)
Overall with mounting: 8 ft. 10 7/8 in. × 35 7/8 in. (271.5 × 91.1 cm)
Overall with knobs: 8 ft. 10 7/8 in. × 40 in. (271.5 × 101.6 cm) - Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988
- Object Number: 1989.363.38
- Curatorial Department: Asian Art
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Ni Zan
1363
Ni Zan
dated 1372
China
ca. 1319
Unidentified artist
mid-12th century
Qian Xuan
ca. 1295
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