Landscape with Mountain Village

Artists

Description

Painted on paper in ink and the relatively light shades of color that the literati painters of the Suzhou-based Wu School typically employed, this long handscroll presents a panoramic view of trees and mountains along a waterway. Although rocks, trees, and mountains dominate the scene, tiny figures appear throughout the landscape, crossing bridges, inhabiting village dwellings, and fishing from small boats. At the end of the scroll, the painting is dated and signed by the artist Wen Zhengming (1470-1559), an important literati painter from Suzhou and a leading figure of the Wu School. A colophon by the Qing scholar Weng Tonghe (1830-1904) follows the painting and comments on the artist's great skill in capturing the essence of past masters while still exhibiting his individualistic style and the meticulous brushwork for which Wen Zhengming was renowned. (A notable Chinese statesman who served as Prime Minister of China, Weng Tonghe was not only a collector and connoisseur but Wan-go H.C. Weng's great-great-grandfather. The colophon and seal indicate that Weng Tonghe collected this scroll, likely in the mid- to late nineteenth century. The scroll, along with the entire collection, remained in the Weng Family through succeeding generations, until the collection was inherited by the infant Wan-go H.C. Weng in 1919.)

Dimensions

painting: H. 24.5 x W. 320.3 cm (9 5/8 x 126 1/8 in.) mounting: H. 25.4 cm (10 in.)

Provenance

[Through?], likely Beijing, sold; to Weng Xincun (1791-1862), by inheritance; to Weng Tonghe (1830-1904), by bequest; to Weng Zhenghan, by bequest; to Weng Ansun, by bequest; to Weng Zhilian (1882-1919), by bequest; to Wan-go H.C. Weng (born 1918), 1919, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2010. NOTE: The Weng-Family collection was assembled mainly by Weng Tonghe (1830-1904), though Weng Tonghe acquired a few works by inheritance from his father, Weng Xincun (1791-1862). The majority of the works in the Weng-Family collection were acquired during Weng Tonghe's years of service in Beijing in the mid- to late nineteenth century. This scroll by Wen Zhengming likely was acquired in Beijing at that time. Thus, the probable direct line of provenance for this scroll is as follows: Possibly collected by Weng Xincun (1791-1862) Owned by Weng Tonghe (1830-1904); possibly acquired by inheritance from Weng Xincun, likely acquired by purchase in Beijing Weng Tonghe (1830-1904) by bequest to Weng Zhenghan Weng Zhenghan by bequest to Weng Ansun Weng Ansun by bequest to Weng Zhilian (1882-1919) Weng Zhilian by bequest to Wan-go H.C. Weng (born 1918); thus, Wan-go H.C. Weng, the donor to the H/AM, acquired the scroll by inheritance in 1919, just a year after his birth. Wan-go H.C. Weng brought the Weng-Family collection, including this scroll from China to the United States late in 1948.