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Lot Essay
I Did It My Way: A Brief Analysis of Gong Xian’s A Thousand Peaks and Myriad Ravines
A native of Kunshan, Jiangsu province, Gong Xian (1618-1689) moved to Nanjing when he was a child. After the collapse of the Ming dynasty he moved to Yang Zhou and other places. In 1668 he returned to Nanjing and built a home, the Half-Acre Garden under Mount Qingliang for his secluded retirement, sometimes teaching students to paint.
At sixteen, Gong Xian was introduced to Dong Qichang (1555-1636) through Yang Wencong (1596-1646). Learnt from the landscapes of the Southern School, his painting style evolved from simple and elegant with light ink for his early works, to aloof and forbidding for his landscapes of the late period, characterized by the use of dense and moist ink.
The majestic A Thousand Peaks and Myriad Ravines is a very good example of his late period work. Measuring more than two metres high, one is captivated by the rich and moist ink from afar. The lush mountain ranges and valleys are wakened up by the precipitous waterfalls and plunging cascades. With an upright brush, the peaks, rocks, trees and houses are rendered in straight and oblique brushstrokes with contrasting ink washes, which create a verdant and luxuriant landscape full of power and sentiments.
Amongst the old masters of the Five Dynasties as well as Song, Yuan and Ming periods, Gong Xian particularly admired Dong Qichang. Based on the ink dotting method of the Song masters Mi Fu (1051-1107) and his son Mi Youren (1086-1151), he eventually developed his ink accumulation method, which made a profound impact on the modern masters such as Huang Binhong (1868-1955) and Li Keran (1907-1989).
A native of Kunshan, Jiangsu province, Gong Xian (1618-1689) moved to Nanjing when he was a child. After the collapse of the Ming dynasty he moved to Yang Zhou and other places. In 1668 he returned to Nanjing and built a home, the Half-Acre Garden under Mount Qingliang for his secluded retirement, sometimes teaching students to paint.
At sixteen, Gong Xian was introduced to Dong Qichang (1555-1636) through Yang Wencong (1596-1646). Learnt from the landscapes of the Southern School, his painting style evolved from simple and elegant with light ink for his early works, to aloof and forbidding for his landscapes of the late period, characterized by the use of dense and moist ink.
The majestic A Thousand Peaks and Myriad Ravines is a very good example of his late period work. Measuring more than two metres high, one is captivated by the rich and moist ink from afar. The lush mountain ranges and valleys are wakened up by the precipitous waterfalls and plunging cascades. With an upright brush, the peaks, rocks, trees and houses are rendered in straight and oblique brushstrokes with contrasting ink washes, which create a verdant and luxuriant landscape full of power and sentiments.
Amongst the old masters of the Five Dynasties as well as Song, Yuan and Ming periods, Gong Xian particularly admired Dong Qichang. Based on the ink dotting method of the Song masters Mi Fu (1051-1107) and his son Mi Youren (1086-1151), he eventually developed his ink accumulation method, which made a profound impact on the modern masters such as Huang Binhong (1868-1955) and Li Keran (1907-1989).