Zhao Mengfu Show Stone and Sparse Forest

[Zhao Mengfu Xiushi Shulin Painting Volume]

Xiushi Shulin Painting Volume, Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu painting, paper edition, ink brush, 27.5 cm in length and 62.8 cm in width
Zhao Mengfu painted bamboo and stone, emphasizing “painting with calligraphy”. This painting of the ancient wooden Xinhuang was born between the beautiful stones on the flat slope. The stone was painted with flying white method, and the tree was painted with seal calligraphy. It was expressed in pure ink. It is the concrete embodiment of his theory of “homology of calligraphy and painting” in painting practice, and it is also one of the most representative works of literati painting in the Yuan Dynasty
A seven-character quatrain is inscribed on the tail paper: “Stone is like flying white wood and Zhou, and writing bamboo is also like eight methods. If someone can understand this, we can know that calligraphy and painting are the same.” This is Zhao Mengfu’s famous sentence about the theory of the connection between painting and calligraphy, which has a profound impact on later literati painting.