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PROPERTY OF THE FAMILY OF AN HO
AN HO (AN HE, 1927-2017)
Procession of Daoist Immortals by Wu Zongyuan
Details
AN HO (AN HE, 1927-2017)
Procession of Daoist Immortals by Wu Zongyuan
Handscroll, ink on paper
11 x 108 in. (27.9 x 274.3 cm.)
Without signature or seals of the artist
Frontispiece inscribed and signed by Zhang Zhiben (1881-1976), with one seal
Colophons inscribed by Lü Foting (1911-2005), Li Lincan (1913-1999) and Zhuang Yan (1899-1980), with nine seals
Second frontispiece inscribed and signed by Yu Yufei (1894-1978), with three seals
Procession of Daoist Immortals by Wu Zongyuan
Handscroll, ink on paper
11 x 108 in. (27.9 x 274.3 cm.)
Without signature or seals of the artist
Frontispiece inscribed and signed by Zhang Zhiben (1881-1976), with one seal
Colophons inscribed by Lü Foting (1911-2005), Li Lincan (1913-1999) and Zhuang Yan (1899-1980), with nine seals
Second frontispiece inscribed and signed by Yu Yufei (1894-1978), with three seals
Provenance
Acquired directly from the artist.
Further details
Born into an educated family in Beijing, An Ho first determined to be an artist at the age of 7. Her mother was a painter of flowers, and An Ho learned calligraphy from a family friend. However, her path as an artist was dramatically impacted when she became the student of Pu Ru (1896-1963) in 1945 when she was 16. She continued to study with him for 17 years. Beginning in the early 1950s, An Ho began to seriously study and copy the ancient painting styles of the Tang and Song dynasties. She sought out teachers who could help her master the needed techniques and studied original masterpieces whenever possible. This refined and meticulous gongbi style of antiquity suited An Ho’s personality, and she developed a personal painting and calligraphy style that was elegant, technically masterful and brilliant.
According to the colophons by Lü Foting, which was written in 1969, and Li Lincan, An Ho made this copy of Wu Zongyuan’s Procession of Immortals (although she used paper rather than silk). Both men noted that they saw the original painting in the collection of Wang Jiqian (C.C. Wang, 1907-2003) in New York. Wu Zongyuan, who was also a government official, was a renowned painter of Daoist imagery in the Northern Song period and painted several temple murals in the capital of Kaifeng. His style was heavily influenced by the preeminent Tang-figure painter, Wu Daozi (active ca. 710-ca. 760). Li Lincan noted that this painting was likely based on a scroll copy of an original mural painting by Wu Daozi for a Daoist temple that Wu Zongyuan then copied. The painting that An Ho copied depicts splendidly attired Daoist immortals processing in line over a series of bridges over a lotus pond and was exhibited in the 2000 exhibition by Stephen Little with Shawn Eichman, Taoism and the Arts of China (cat. no. 74). There is another, smaller version of this painting presently in the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum, as well as two related versions in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inventory numbers 18.124.1 and 21.18). As part of her studies of Tang-dynasty paintings, mastery of the figural style of Wu Daozi, as represented by this handscroll, was of critical importance to An Ho’s artistic development. Her daughter recalls that An Ho painted this work in 1961 while she was pregnant with her, and An Ho later asked the scholars/artists to add the colophons. In addition to the commentaries described above, in 1971 Zhuang Yan also copied the colophon written by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) that follows the original painting by Wu Zongyuan.
According to the colophons by Lü Foting, which was written in 1969, and Li Lincan, An Ho made this copy of Wu Zongyuan’s Procession of Immortals (although she used paper rather than silk). Both men noted that they saw the original painting in the collection of Wang Jiqian (C.C. Wang, 1907-2003) in New York. Wu Zongyuan, who was also a government official, was a renowned painter of Daoist imagery in the Northern Song period and painted several temple murals in the capital of Kaifeng. His style was heavily influenced by the preeminent Tang-figure painter, Wu Daozi (active ca. 710-ca. 760). Li Lincan noted that this painting was likely based on a scroll copy of an original mural painting by Wu Daozi for a Daoist temple that Wu Zongyuan then copied. The painting that An Ho copied depicts splendidly attired Daoist immortals processing in line over a series of bridges over a lotus pond and was exhibited in the 2000 exhibition by Stephen Little with Shawn Eichman, Taoism and the Arts of China (cat. no. 74). There is another, smaller version of this painting presently in the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum, as well as two related versions in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (inventory numbers 18.124.1 and 21.18). As part of her studies of Tang-dynasty paintings, mastery of the figural style of Wu Daozi, as represented by this handscroll, was of critical importance to An Ho’s artistic development. Her daughter recalls that An Ho painted this work in 1961 while she was pregnant with her, and An Ho later asked the scholars/artists to add the colophons. In addition to the commentaries described above, in 1971 Zhuang Yan also copied the colophon written by Zhao Mengfu (1254-1322) that follows the original painting by Wu Zongyuan.