Chinese Landscapes from the Ashmolean Collection
(from 9th Feb until 21st Jul 2013)Explore the continued tradition of Chinese landscape painting in this complement to the Xu Bing show.
- Reference URL
Actions
Snow on Streams and Mountains
-
Description
Wu Guxiang was one of the leading painters of the Orthodox School in Shanghai. His landscape style is said to derive from the Ming masters Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) and Tang Yin (1470-1523).
The inscription on this painting, however, quotes the Qing master Yun Shouping (1633-1690): ‘You must grasp the spirit of freezing coldness. Its appearance is solemn, and its light is dim. It accumulates layers after layers, and you can follow the trace to a new realm of enjoyment. The breath of coldness floats over tables and chairs, and the fierce storm starts from the tip of a hair. You must get the similarity of the spirit, and take the shape of the nature. This can be used to describe the painting of snow.’
-
Details
- Associated place
-
Asia › China › Jiangsu province › Suzhou (place of creation)
- Date
- November 1900
- Artist/maker
-
Wu Guxiang (1848 - 1903) (artist)Wu Guxiang (1848 - 1903) (calligrapher)after Yun Shouping (1633 - 1690) (author)
- Material and technique
- ink and colour on paper
- Dimensions
-
frame 185.4 x 54.3 x 2.2 cm (height x width x depth)
painting 146.8 x 38.2 cm (height x width)
- Material index
- Technique index
- Object type index
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Presented in honour of the forthcoming 70th birthdays of Jose Mauricio and Angelita Trinidad Reyes, 1995.
- Accession no.
- EA1995.253
-
Further reading
Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 24 September-1 December 1996, Modern Chinese Paintings: The Reyes Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Vainker, Shelagh (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1996), no. 88 on p. 67, p. 10, illus. p. 67 fig. 88
Vainker, Shelagh, ‘Modern Chinese Paintings in the Ashmolean Museum’, Oriental Art, 42/3, (Autumn 1996), p. 3, illus. p. 2 fig. 1
Past Exhibition
see (1)
Location
-
- currently in research collection
Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.
Publications online
-
Modern Chinese Paintings: The Reyes Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Wu Guxiang, whose works are now quite rare, was one of the leading Orthodox School painters in Shanghai, and his landscape style derives ultimately from the Ming masters Wen Zhengming (1470-1559) and Tang Yin (1470-1523). He is known to have painted sets of seasonal landscapes and this winter scene may belong to such a group. The inscription discusses past theories of landscape painting.
Notice
Objects from past exhibitions may have now returned to our stores or a lender. Click into an individual object record to confirm whether or not an object is currently on display. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis, so please contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular Eastern Art object.
© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum