清 王槩繪圖、李漁出版 《芥子園畫傳》 木版畫|Page from the Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting
first edition printed in 1679
Medium
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Dimensions
9 5/8 x 11 13/16 in. (24.4 x 30 cm)
Classification
Prints
Culture & Period
China · Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1924
Accession Number
CP21
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite woodblock print is a page from the *Mustard Seed Garden Manual of* (*Jieziyuan Huazhuan*), the first edition of which was published in 167 during China's Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Illustrated by Wang Gai and printed under the direction of the innovative publisher Li Yu, this manual revolutionized art education by offering practical models for aspiring painters. Featuring delicate renderings of mountains and trees—hallmarks of traditional Chinese landscape painting—it served as a treasured guidebook for centuries. The medium of ink and color on paper via woodblock printing exemp...
About the Artist
Wang Gai · 1645–1710
Wang Gai (王概, 1645–1710), a prominent Qing dynasty painter from Xiushui in Zhejiang province, established himself in the vibrant cultural hub of Nanjing, where he flourished from around 1677 to 1705. Born into a scholarly family—his father-in-law was the renowned writer Li Yu (1611–1680)—Gai trained under the master Gong Xian (1619–1689), one of the Eight Masters of Jinling, adopting his robust la...