River landscape
Zha Shibiao, also known as Meihe or Erzhan, was from Xin’an in Anhui province. He is regarded as one of the four masters of the Xin’an School, and is renowned for his dry brushwork and sparse composition. The artist studied for the civil service examinations before the fall of the Ming dynasty, and it has been suggested that his subsequent departure from official life in favour of painting may have been prompted by lack of sympathy for the new rule.
From the 1670s onwards Zha Shibiao lived in Yangzhou. His family owned collections of paintings and bronzes, and he himself was a connoisseur. In painting he followed his contemporary Hong Ren (1610-1664) and the Yuan master Ni Zan (1301-1374). On this painting is inscribed: ‘The pond in the mountain floods after a shower’.
Details
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Title
River landscape
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Artist/maker
Zha Shibiao (1615 - 1698) -
Associated people
Wang Shilu (1626 - 1673) (recipient) -
Associated place
China (place of creation) -
Date
probably 1666 -
Material and technique
ink and colour on paper
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Material index
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Technique index
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Object type
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Dimensions
mount 55.6 x 40.7 cm (height x width)
page 26.7 x 22.5 cm (height x width)
painting 19 x 17.5 cm (height x width) -
No. of items
1
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Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the MLA/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, the Art Fund, and Friends of the Ashmolean Museum, 1980.
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Museum location
Museum department
Eastern Art
Accession no.
EA1980.143
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Catalogue text
Zha Shibiao was from Haiyang near Xiuying in Anhui province and is associated with the Anhui School, renowned for dry brushwork and sparse composition. Zha Shibiao studied for the civil service examinations before the fall of the Ming dynasty, and it has been suggested that his subsequent departure from official life in favour of painting may have been prompted by lack of sympathy for the new rule. His family owned collections of paintings and bronzes and he himself was a connoisseur. In painting he followed his near contemporary Hong Ren and the Yuan master Ni Zan. From the 1670s onwards he lived in Yangzhou.
In: Vainker, Shelagh, Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2000)
Further reading
Vainker, Shelagh, Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2000), no. 160 on p. 184, illus. p. 185 fig. 160
Reference URL
