Daniel Chou
March 23, 2015
Landscape Paintings: the feeling of being one with the environment
The Yuan dynasty was a period of change. The Mongols had come into power, bringing with them values that were foreign to the Han ethnic group. As a result, there were many loyalists from the previous Song dynasty who resisted subjugation to whom they considered foreign powers.
This political change had an impact on artwork that was created during the Yuan period. One result was an emergence of artists who started to create artwork not for the benefits of the authorities, as in previous time periods, but instead for a purpose of self-enjoyment and critique by their peers. Such painters, known as “literari,” were educated individuals from an elite background…show more content… There is quickly a sense of self-satisfaction from observing how inconsequential humans are in comparison to the environment. Qian Xuan’s painting of “Wang Xizhi Watching Geese” (see Figure 1) depicts Wang watching geese settle in a lake with vast blue mountains in the background. Qian Xuan portrays Wang Xizhi in a calm, collected manner; aside from another individual, presumably his assistant, and a classical roof structure over their heads, there is no other sign of humans in the picture. Instead, it appears that Quan Xuan intentionally created conflict between the left and the right side of the painting – portraying a vast mountain on the right hand side, in comparison to the geese, the individuals, and the abundance of trees on the left hand side. Such a portrayal makes it apparent that the viewer of the painting is made to appreciate the mere simplicity and contrast between the lake and the trees at the forefront in comparison to the monumental mountains placed in the background.
In contrast, Zheng Mengfu’s “Autumn Colours and the Qiao and Hua Rivers” (see Figure 2) appears visually different from Quan Xian’s hand scroll. Unlike Quan Xian’s artwork, Zheng Mengfu does not make use of blank space as a means to draw the viewer’s focus: instead, he fully uses the space provided to illustrate the transition of the seasons in the trees and the landscape. Like Quan Xuan’s painting,…show more content… However, Zhao Mengfu’s placement of trees varies from Quan Xuan’s placement of trees. Zhao Mengfu illustrates the trees in a fashion that invokes a feeling of transition; the trees seemingly appear to be half barren, portraying the change of season and perhaps the inability of humans to modify its change. In contrast, Qian Xuan chooses to use trees to illustriously fill in the left side of his painting – the trees in the forefront along with the trees in the background covering the roof structure highlight the coexistence between human activity and nature. Hence, it appears that both paintings reflect the ideal of humans being inconsequential in comparison to the broad scheme of nature; that although humans are unable to manipulate it, they don’t appear to be threatened by it, instead choosing to associate nature with tranquility and
