Compare And Contrast Ming And Shen Weng
INTRODUCTION
The conflation of poetry, painting and calligraphy is an ideal that dominated the development of Chinese literati culture for more than a thousand years. In this context, the term literati refers to the well-educated scholars who demonstrate intellectual cultivation and reveal personal feeling in artistic activity as amateurs. The literati painting, which was first advocated in the Northern Song by Su Shi and had gained prominence during the Yuan, again flourished with the prosperous economy of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming scholars formed a unique taste towards life and art and often painted the elegant, refined life scenes. Luckily, in the Johnson Museum collection, there is the painting New Year’s Gathering by Wen Zhengming, which …show more content…
Due to the reduced taxes and the improving condition for artists in the mid-Ming (Barnhart, 217), both literati artists, such as Shen Zhou and Wen Zhengming, and professional artists, Tang Yin and Qiu Ying, became active in Suzhou, and together they are known as the Four Great Artists of Wu. Following the early master Shen Zhou’s death, Wen Zhengming “gathered around him a large number of students” (Sullivan, 224) and carried the literati culture of the Wu School to its zenith. At a young age, Wen Zhengming had the best teachers among the Wu area: he studied the Classics under Chen Kuan, calligraphy from Li Ying-zhen, and painting from Shen Zhou (Barnhart, 219). Although known for his diligence, Wen was ill fated. After failing the local examinations ten times, he finally “served in the Hanlin Academy in a low-ranking secretarial job. He resigned after four years and returned home” in 1527 (Barnhart, 220). He truly devoted his life to being a scholar, a painter, and a calligrapher. The New Year’s Gathering was done in 1532, five years after he went back to Suzhou. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that the painting reveals an eremitic theme, and “such sentiments were reflected in painting through the pursuit of sensuality in the form of aesthetic pleasures” (Barnhart, 198). After the unpleasant experience of serving in officialdom, Wen
The conflation of poetry, painting and calligraphy is an ideal that dominated the development of Chinese literati culture for more than a thousand years. In this context, the term literati refers to the well-educated scholars who demonstrate intellectual cultivation and reveal personal feeling in artistic activity as amateurs. The literati painting, which was first advocated in the Northern Song by Su Shi and had gained prominence during the Yuan, again flourished with the prosperous economy of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming scholars formed a unique taste towards life and art and often painted the elegant, refined life scenes. Luckily, in the Johnson Museum collection, there is the painting New Year’s Gathering by Wen Zhengming, which …show more content…
Due to the reduced taxes and the improving condition for artists in the mid-Ming (Barnhart, 217), both literati artists, such as Shen Zhou and Wen Zhengming, and professional artists, Tang Yin and Qiu Ying, became active in Suzhou, and together they are known as the Four Great Artists of Wu. Following the early master Shen Zhou’s death, Wen Zhengming “gathered around him a large number of students” (Sullivan, 224) and carried the literati culture of the Wu School to its zenith. At a young age, Wen Zhengming had the best teachers among the Wu area: he studied the Classics under Chen Kuan, calligraphy from Li Ying-zhen, and painting from Shen Zhou (Barnhart, 219). Although known for his diligence, Wen was ill fated. After failing the local examinations ten times, he finally “served in the Hanlin Academy in a low-ranking secretarial job. He resigned after four years and returned home” in 1527 (Barnhart, 220). He truly devoted his life to being a scholar, a painter, and a calligrapher. The New Year’s Gathering was done in 1532, five years after he went back to Suzhou. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that the painting reveals an eremitic theme, and “such sentiments were reflected in painting through the pursuit of sensuality in the form of aesthetic pleasures” (Barnhart, 198). After the unpleasant experience of serving in officialdom, Wen