明 文徵明 太湖群嶼圖 扇面|View of Lake Tai
dated 1543
Medium
Folding fan mounted as an album leaf; ink and color on gold-flecked paper
Dimensions
9 3/4 x 20 3/4 in. (24.8 x 52.7 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture & Period
China · Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Dillon Fund Gift, 1982
Accession Number
1982.7.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
Wen Zhengming's *View of Lake Tai*1543) captures the misty grandeur of China's legendary Lake Taihu on a delicate folding fan, now mounted as an album leaf Rendered in ink and soft colors on shimmering gold-flecked paper9 3/4 x 20 3/4 in.), this Ming dynasty (1368–1644) landscape exemplifies the intimate scale of fan paintings, prized by literati for personal expression and portability. As a leading master of the Wu school from Suzhou, Wen Zhengming blended classical Song dynasty landscape ideals with a more spontaneous, poetic style. His brushwork evokes the rugged Taihu stones—celebrated "s...
About the Artist
Wen Zhengming · 1470–1559
Wen Zhengming (1470–1559), born in Suzhou to a modestly successful scholar-official family, embodied the ideal of the Ming dynasty literati artist. His father, Wen Lin, introduced him early to a leading Suzhou calligrapher, fostering his foundational skills in that art. A late bloomer, Wen studied under the master Shen Zhou, whose guidance shaped his profound reverence for Song and Yuan dynasty ar...