Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Wangchuan Villa

Artist/Maker Zhang Jishu (China, 1604-1684)

Date1676

Mediumink and colors on paper

DimensionsOverall (Main Image): 11 7/8 x 157 1/4 in. (30.2 x 399.4 cm)
Overall: 14 1/2 x 441 1/4 in. (36.8 x 1120.8 cm)

ClassificationsVisual Works

Credit LineGift of Stephen Junkunc III

Terms

Object number73.029.003

On View

Not on view

Collections

Art of Asia

DescriptionThe poet-painter Wang Wei (699-761) flourished in the mid-T'ang period, which is generally regarded as the apogee of Chinese civilization. He was esteemed in his lifetime for his painting and music as well as his poetry, for which he is now principally known. It is said that in 715 Wang Wei designed the garden called Wang-ch'uan depicted in the Lowe Art Museum scroll, and that he himself painted ten to twenty views of it, none of which survive. The Chinese have always been great copyists, not so much to deceive as to study another great artist's style and to preserve it for posterity. It is therefore not surprising that since Wang Wei's time, this subject has been depicted by many artists.