The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA, has launched a special exhibition " Secluded Residence and Friendship: Chinese Painting " since 2021. It is the second special exhibition, and the second exhibition will be until August this year.
According to the official statement of the metropolis, this special exhibition has selected more than 120 treasures of calligraphy and painting artifacts from the 11th century to the 21st century. It mainly explores how Chinese literati express their inner world with art - "secret" or "communication"?
Picture Note: " Secluded Residence and Friendship in Chinese Paintings " Special Exhibition Introduction
These more than 120 cultural relics are almost all treasures lost to China from abroad, and there are many rare national treasures in the world.
The painting on the cover of its official website special exhibition is "Piano and Crane Picture" from the Ming Dynasty.
This work is made of paper colors, with length and width of 103.2×49.8cm respectively. On the picture, a cottage is located under a huge sycamore tree. In the hall, a white-clothed man sat on a futon and played the piano alone. A boy stood beside him. On the open space in front of the hall, a crane flew over, as if dancing to the sound of the piano;
The cottage is surrounded by strange rocks, small bridges and flowing water, and the ground is covered with fragrance. The whole picture sets off the noble and complacent spiritual world of the owner of the cottage.
Picture Note: Part of the anonymous "Picture of the Crown" in the Ming Dynasty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,
In addition to the above-mentioned anonymous fine works, there are also the works of Tang Bohu, the four great talents of Jiangnan, and Wen Zhengming, who are familiar to everyone;
There are also many famous works of Shi Tao, Dong Qichang, Wang Mian, Shen Zhou, and many other famous masters who have left great names in the history of Chinese calligraphy and painting.
For example, the following "Xisai Fishing Club Picture" by the painter of Southern Song Li Jie . Li Jie himself is not very famous, and he does not even have his records in " Song History ", but in the only painting he left behind, there are inscriptions written by many famous artists.
Picture Note: Southern Song Li Jie's "Picture of Xisai Fishing Club"
such as Chunxi twelfth year (1185)Fan Chengda posts,Fifteenth year (1188)Hong Maibo,Hhaoxi First year (1190)Zhou Bida,Zhao Xiong's postscript,The second year (1191)Wang Lin ,Yan Cangshu,You Mao postscripts. These postscripts were written at the request of the master. Later, there were poems written by Weng Ye in the first year of Deyou (1275) and poems written by Dong Qilu of the Ming Dynasty, E Rong'an, Shen Deqian of the Qing Dynasty.
This work depicts Li Jie's living environment in Huzhou, Zhejiang after he retired from Sichuan.
The house hall, lotus pond and water pavilion, high willow fruit trees, small bridges and curved streams, and tramways are all vivid and lifelike. This picture is a true portrayal of the literati manor in the early years of Emperor Xiaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty (1163-1173). It is the only remaining example of the Song Dynasty paintings and has high historical value.
Fan Chengda's inscriptions are simple, thick and elegant, and has a very high status in the history of calligraphy.
Picture Note: Fan Cheng’s grand postscript
The whole picture not only adds a vivid and intuitive touch to the historical materials related to Xisaishan , but also faithfully records the life of literati at that time with rich postscript content.
Another example is the "Drunk Fishing Picture of Reed Zhu" by Tang Yin and Tang Bohu in the Ming Dynasty.
In the painting, a bright moon shines brightly, a fisherman in the straw raincoat is carrying a small boat, with tall reeds in front and behind the boat. On the painting is a poem written by Tang Bohu: "Put the pole, tie the squid, and the moon is on the top of the pole. The old fisherman is drunk and cannot wake up, and he gets up and frost and seals his clothes and shadows."
Picture Note: Ming Tang Yin "Drunk Fishing Picture of the Reed Bath"
Since there are works by Tang Yin, then the four talents of Jiangnan, Wen Zhengming , who are the four talents in Jiangnan, will naturally not fall behind.
Wen Zhengming's painting "Donglin Summer Retreatment Picture" and "Congguizhai Picture" are both on display.
"Congguizhai Picture" was written by Wen Zhengming to congratulate his fellow villager Zheng Zichong on his passing of the Jinshi. In ancient times, the imperial examinations were mostly held in August, and August was the day when osmanthus flowers bloomed, so people also called the examination " bonus ".
Wen Zhengming's painting is about his friend Zheng Zichong leaning against the wall of his study in his home yard, as if he was watching the scenery with all his attention. Through the windows in the painting, you can also vaguely see a cabinet full of books in the room, reflecting the owner's identity as a scholarly family.
Picture Note: Ming Wen Zhengming Cong Guizhai Picture Volume
In addition, there are also works by Shi Tao, a great painter in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties: "Landscape Figures".
Shi Tao himself was a royal family of the Ming Dynasty. His original name was Zhu Ruoji . After the demise of Ming Dynasty, Shi Tao could only become a monk and traveled everywhere to make a living by selling paintings. He was one of the famous four monks of the late Ming Dynasty.
Shi Tao plays a very important role in the history of Chinese painting. Although he was forced to walk around the motherland, this also allowed him to see the wonders of various places. Whether it is Huangshan clouds and smoke, Jiangnan ink painting, or cliffs, there is a kind of free and easy, bold and upright momentum in Shi Tao's writings.
Picture Note: Shitao, Qing Dynasty, landscape figures,
So many exquisite cultural relics from China, but have been overseas for various reasons. Among the 120 cultural relics exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York this time, it is actually only a small part of the cultural relics from China in the collection.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, in English, Metropolitan Museum of Art, is the largest art museum in the United States and one of the five largest museums in the world (the five museums are: the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, the British Museum in London, England, Louvre in Paris, France, and Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at 82nd Street, Fifth Avenue, New York, USA. It covers an area of 130,000 square meters and contains 3 million exhibits.
Picture Note: The Metropolitan Museum of Art officially displays Chinese exhibits
Among them, there are 12,000 Chinese cultural relics and artworks alone, and there are all kinds of cultural relics, including calligraphy, painting, bronze, jade, lacquerware , porcelain, gold and silver ware , etc....
But how many of these 12,000 cultural relics are obtained by normal means?
