Chinese Landscape after Huang Gongwang, 18th-19th century, Shi Wenjing; Inscriber: Inscription on box by Gejo Keikoku, Chinese, 77 5/8 × 38 15/16 in. (197.17 × 98.9 cm) (image)95 1/2 × 46 7/8 in. (242.57 × 119.06 cm) (overall), Ink and colors on silk; hanging scroll, China, 18th-19th century, This monumental painting displays eremitic elements that were heavily influential in Chinese landscape painting. Eremitism, or the retreat from society into a life of reclusion, was a popular idea throughout Chinese history that valued solitude, withdrawal into nature, and self-cultivation. This scene depicts tiny houses and their residents tucked away in the lap of a mountain. The huge, rocky mountain seems difficult and cumbersome to climb, and the river at its base seals the residents in, creating a reclusive dwelling away from a more populated society.
Chinese Landscape after Huang Gongwang, 18th-19th century, Shi Wenjing; Inscriber: Inscription on box by Gejo Keikoku, Chinese, 77 5/8 × 38 15/16 in. (197.17 × 98.9 cm) (image)95 1/2 × 46 7/8 in. (242.57 × 119.06 cm) (overall), Ink and colors on silk; hanging scroll, China, 18th-19th century, This monumental painting displays eremitic elements that were heavily influential in Chinese landscape painting. Eremitism, or the retreat from society into a life of reclusion, was a popular idea throughout Chinese history that valued solitude, withdrawal into nature, and self-cultivation. This scene depicts tiny houses and their residents tucked away in the lap of a mountain. The huge, rocky mountain seems difficult and cumbersome to climb, and the river at its base seals the residents in, creating a reclusive dwelling away from a more populated society.