Zhao Mengfu Water Village

[Zhao Mengfu Water Village Map Volume]

The Water Village Map Volume, Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu’s painting, paper version, ink, 24.9 cm in length and 120.5 cm in width
This picture reads: “On November 6, Dade, it was painted by Qian Dejun. Zi Ang.” The next seal is “Zhao’s Zi Ang”. This painting contains two sections of the poem title of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, including 26 collections of Qianlong and Jiaqing’s internal seals and the “Lenga True Appreciation”, and 8 half prints
The two characters “Qinghua” written by Emperor Qianlong Hongli of the Qing Dynasty are introduced, and the Qianlong seal is stamped on four sides. There are 9 collections and seals of “Xuantong Imperial Treasure” and “Ancient and Rare Son of Heaven” across the front and back. The postscript on the tail paper reads: “In the next month, Dejun held this picture to see it, and then it was already assembled into a shaft. It was shameful to daub it casually, but it was too humiliating to cherish it. Zi Ang wrote it.” The seal “Zhao’s Zi Ang” and “Song Xue Zhai” were printed. And the title of the poem: “It has always written the meaning of Bu Ju, and the residence is only now a picture. The heart is originally from the vast river and sea, and the master is holding hands to write the lake. Deng Shu’s title.” The seal “Jue Fei Zhai” Zhu Wenyin. There are a total of 56 paragraphs in the inscriptions of Juefeisao, Anonymous, Gu Tianxiang and others
This picture was painted in the sixth year of Dade in the Yuan Dynasty (1302). Zhao Mengfu was 49 years old. This is his last reliable chronological work. Zhao Mengfu wrote the plain and open scenery of Jiangnan Watertown in ink, which was influenced by Dong Yuan from the use of pen to composition. However, Dong Yuan’s painting method has been completely integrated into Zhao Mengfu’s personal style, which was inadvertently expressed. The mountain is painted with Pima Chan, and the scenery is unfolded in the form of plain. There is a lot of desire for writing, and the use of the pen is gentle and implicit, and the meaning of “writing” is strong, which reflects the aesthetic interest of calligraphy. The painter expresses his feelings through the scenery, showing a quiet state of mind and his pursuit of “plain and naive”. The important part of this picture is that it has had a great influence on the formation of the unique style of Yuan painting. It can be seen that Zhao Mengfu played an important role in the development of the trend of human painting in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties
This picture volume was once collected by Dong Qichang and later received by the Qing government. “Iron Net Coral”, “Qinghe Calligraphy and Painting Boat”, “Collection of Calligraphy and Painting in Shigutang”, “First Edition of Shiqu Treasure Collection” and other books.