Gaoxiang Landscape Map Axis

[Gaoxiang landscape map axis]

Landscape map axis, Qing Dynasty, Gaoxiang painting, paper book, ink pen, 79.7 cm vertically and 41 cm horizontally
On the top left of the painting, read: “The boat moved to the famous forest garden, and the shore was covered by the Zhuhuacui. Cherish the poem of Fuweng, and specially paint the hills in the residual ink. Renyin went up to the first day of the year, and made the sound painting with the silent poem. Hehe. The people of the Western Tang Dynasty wrote Gao Xiang.” Seal the “banana garden”. The seal in the lower right corner is “Zhenzhai Treasure”
“Renyin” is the sixty-first year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1722). “Shangyuan Day” is the Yuanxiao (Filled round balls made of glutinous rice-flour for Lantern Festival) Festival on the 15th day of the first month
In the “Yangzhou Painting School”, Gao Xiang is famous for his good at painting landscapes. This picture is created according to the verse of “Fuweng” and depicts the artist’s ideal place of seclusion. In the painting, the landscape is beautiful, the vegetation is clumped, the branches are luxuriant, and the green is verdant. The cottage in the mountains is hidden in it, and the bamboo is embraced, to show the noble and clean character of the master. Nearby, the lake is clear and calm, and the yachts are rippling in it. The boatman paddled and stood at the stern of the boat. In the canopy, three literati sat opposite each other, enjoying the scenery and chanting poems
The theme of literati’s seclusion is often expressed in the paintings of people in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Under Gao Xiang’s pen, the sense of transcendence and seclusion in Yuan and Ming paintings weakened and became realistic. The landscape in the painting shows the unique beautiful scenery of Yangzhou due to the influence of the painter’s own travel. In Gao Xiang’s works, most of the landscape sketches taken in close view are based on the scenery of his hometown and his living environment
Wang Yun commented on Gao Xiang in his “Records of Yangzhou Paintings”: “The law of power is gradual, and he is also good at compromises.”. The outline of the rocks in this picture is simple and elegant, with a slight square fold. It has the meaning of Hongren’s pen, but it is different from Hongren’s cold and vigorous, and gives people a fresh, bright and lively feeling. In addition, there are few mountain and stone texturing methods in the paintings, and most of them are directly drawn with thick or light lines. Leaves, circles or points are easily and casually used. You can see the influence of Shi Tao, which just turns his unbridled into elegant charm.