Chen Zongyuan Hongya Mountain House scroll

[Chen Zongyuan’s Hongya Mountain House Volume]

The Hongya Mountain House Volume, Ming Dynasty, Chen Zongyuan’s painting, paper version, ink pen, 27.1 cm vertically and 106.2 cm horizontally
There is no money in this picture. Seal “Chen Zongyuan” and “Play in calligraphy”. The four characters “Hongya Mountain House” in the seal script at the beginning were written by Chen Deng, a calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty. After the volume, there are many poems written by Hu Yan in the early Ming Dynasty, such as “The Story of Hongya Mountain House”, the preface of Liang Qian’s poems and the famous officials of that time, Yang Rong, Li Shimian, Wang Zhi, Chen Jingzong, etc
The Painting of Hongya Mountain House is Chen Zongyuan’s only work handed down from generation to generation. It was created according to the real scene as requested by his friend Hu Yan. With the feeling of returning home and returning to seclusion, Hu built a house named “Hongya Mountain House” in his hometown to comfort his homesickness. He once asked Wang Fu to draw a picture for him, but Wang Fu then wrote a poem and declined because of his serious illness. Hu Yan then asked his disciple Chen Zongyuan to create this picture. Hu Yan cherished this work very much, and wrote it after the picture for many times. The picture depicts Hu Yan’s ambition and feelings to live in a temple and feel homesick. It also reflects the mentality of literati and doctors in the harsh political environment of the early Ming Dynasty
The undulating mountains, wide rivers and spectacular scenery in the picture reflect the style and features of Jiangxi. The figures in the painting account for a small proportion of the painting. Although there are only a few strokes and no eyebrows, their posture is relaxed and vivid, or they are displayed in the exhibition hall, or they visit friends with zither, which cleverly highlights the position of the characters in the painting, adds a sense of tranquility and ease, and shows the elegant living environment and extraordinary interest of the literati. The mountains and stones in the painting are represented by lotus leaf chapped and hemp chapped, and the lines are mostly drawn from top to bottom, scattered and flexible. Chen Zongyuan’s painting style inherits the painting style of the Yuan Dynasty, which is similar to Wang Fu, with a clear artistic conception and beautiful ink. His works play an important role in understanding the inheritance relationship of the early paintings of the Wu Clan.