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Landscapes after old masters

Wang Hui Chinese
leaves k, l by Wang Shimin Chinese
dated 1674 and 1677
Not on view
In 1674, Wang Hui painted an album of twelve leaves for his teacher Wang Shimin. Though already in his forties when he made the album, Wang Hui still attempted to impress his mentor with his range and technical facility. Three years later, Wang Shimin made his own album in response, painted in a broader style suited to his failing vision. Portions of the two original albums were lost over the centuries, and a collector combined the surviving ten leaves by Wang Hui and two by Wang Shimin in the album on view here—a touching artifact of the unique bond between a teacher and his student.

Wang Hui (1632–1717)
Colophon
Qing dynasty (1644–1911), dated 1714

Forty years after he painted this album for his teacher Wang Shimin, Wang Hui saw it again in the home of Wang Shimin’s grandson. He recorded his feelings in this colophon:

In 1674, when master Fengchang [Wang Shimin] asked me to do this album, he was eighty-three sui [eighty-two years old]. That was forty years ago; now I am eighty-three. The master’s grandson Qiuya has taken this out to show me. Examining again my earlier inscriptions done so many years ago I am overwhelmed with sadness and feel that the bonds of brush and ink that connect me with three generations of the Wang family cannot have been an accident.
—Translation by Shi-yee Liu

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • 清　王翬、王時敏　仿古山水圖　冊
  • Title: Landscapes after old masters
  • Artist: Wang Hui (Chinese, 1632–1717)
  • Artist: leaves k, l by Wang Shimin (Chinese, 1592–1680)
  • Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
  • Date: dated 1674 and 1677
  • Culture: China
  • Medium: Album of twelve leaves; ink and color on paper
  • Dimensions: Ten paintings by Wang Hui (a–j): 8 5/8 x 13 1/4 in. (22 x 33.8 cm); two paintings by Wang Shimin (k, l): 10 x 13 in. (25.4 x 33 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1989
  • Object Number: 1989.141.4a–rr
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Landscape in the Style of Li Gonglin, Wang Hui Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk, China
Landscape in the Style of Li Gonglin
Wang Hui
dated 1702
Mountains after Rain, Wang Hui Chinese, Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on paper, China
Mountains after Rain
Wang Hui
dated 1695
The Colors of Mount Taihang, Wang Hui Chinese, Handscroll; ink and color on silk, China
The Colors of Mount Taihang
Wang Hui
dated 1669
Clearing after Rain over Streams and Mountains, Wang Hui Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, China
Clearing after Rain over Streams and Mountains
Wang Hui
dated 1662
Landscape in the Style of Zhao Boju (Fang Zhao Boju shanshui), Wang Hui Chinese, Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper, China
Landscape in the Style of Zhao Boju (Fang Zhao Boju shanshui)
Wang Hui
dated 1654

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