Landscape
Artist
Chang Dai-chien
(Zhang Daqian; Chinese, 1899 - 1983)
Date1958
MaterialsInk and colors on paper
DimensionsH. 54 3/4 in x W. 27 1/4 in, H. 139.1 cm x W. 69.2 cm (image); H. 91 1/8 in x W. 28 3/4 in, H. 231.5 cm x W. 73 cm (overall)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Fountain
Object numberB72D42
DepartmentChinese Art
ClassificationsPainting
On View
Not on viewSigned“張爰”（白文方印）、“大千居士”（朱文方印）、“大風堂”（朱文方印）。
Zhang Yuan (square intaglio), Daqian jushi (square relief), Dafengtang (square relief).
Inscribed“戊戌七月既望蜀人張大千爰。摩詰城南山園。”
On the sixteenth day of the seventh lunar month in the wuxu year (1958), painted by Zhang Daqian Yuan of the Shu, in the villa garden south of the Mojie city (Mogi das Cruzes).
More InformationThis painting is clearly modeled on ancient Chinese masterpieces and is comparable to the early Qing-dynasty painter Wang Yuanqi’s (1642–1715) Robust and Vigorous Landscape, shown here. Both works trace the path of a river as it cascades down a steep mountain. But Chang’s brushwork and structure are characterized by different compositional energies. In Wang’s painting, dynamic rocks seem to bubble up to the surface everywhere. Instead, the peaks of Chang’s mountains reach upward, almost taking the form of fingers and a hand, while in the middle section of the painting the composition’s rock formations arch downward, toward expansive pools and a copse of trees.
