In pursuit of heavenly harmony : paintings and calligraphy by Bada Shanren from the estate of Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai PDF
Preview In pursuit of heavenly harmony : paintings and calligraphy by Bada Shanren from the estate of Wang Fangyu and Sum Wai
Heavenly Harmony n Pursuit of Paintings and Calligraphy by Bada Slianren from the Estate ofWang Faugyii and Sum Wai n Pursuit of Heavenly Harmony Paintingsand Calligraphy hy Bada Shanren from theEstate ofWang FangyuandSum Wai The celebrated Chinese artistBada Shanren (1626-1705) was borninto abranch ofthe Mingdynasty (1368-1644) imperial family thatwas known forits literary and artistic accomphshments.When the Ming dynastyfell in 1644,Bada fledhis hometown ofNanchang,Jiangxi,and took refuge in aBuddhist temple,where he remained as a monk formore than thirtyyears andsoon rose to the position ofabbot. During this period,hepainted andwrote calligraphyundera — variety ofBuddhist names Xuege,Chuanqi,Ren'an,Fajue, and Geshan.In the early 1680s,the artist returned to the sec- ularworld,marriedbriefly,and began landscape painting for the first time.In 1684 he startedwriting andpaintingunder thepseudonymBada Shanren,becomingone ofthe most prominentindividuaUstpainters ofthe early Qingdynasty (1644-1911). Bada Shanren developed an idiosyncratic visualvocabu- laryfiiU ofpersonalsymbolism andartistic gesture thathas made his deceptively simpleworks endlessly intriguing.While his spontaneous,almostabstract,brushwork may appearplay- ful,manypaintings also reveal a troubledpsychological edge to his characterand an innately dark oudook on his own for- tunes and the condition ofthe world atlarge.Three hundred yearslater,Bada's works continue to exert a powerful influ- ence on manymodern and contemporary Chinese painters. With essays by renowned Chinese arthistoriansJoseph Changand Qianshen Bai,this compellingand lavishly illus- — tratedpresentation ofBada Shanren's works bequeathed to the Freer Gallery ofArtby Shao F.Wangfrom the collection ofhis parents.ProfessorWang Fangyu and SumWai,and also acquired through the generosity ofthe E.Rhodes and Leona — B.CarpenterFoundation offers fresh insightinto the mys- terious Hfe andworks ofBada Shanren.The central catalogue ofBada's works,luxuriantly designedwith manylife-size reproductions,details the significantfeatures ofeach artwork alongwith annotated translations ofall texts and calligraphy by the gifted translator ofChinese Hterature,Stephen D.AUee. This newvolume brings this elusive subjectto Hfe forawider general audience than everbefore. From an exploration ofthe artist'sbiography and his style as an artist to a sumptuouspres- entation ofhis engagingworks.In PursuitofHeavenly Harmony reveals the uniqueworld ofthis esoteric artistthrough an exceptional collection ofworks thathave made the Freer Gallery ofArt the mostimportantcenterforthe studyand exhibition ofBada Shanren's ouevre outside the People's RepubHc ofChina. Harmony n Pursu itofH eavenly Heaven Harmony n Pursuit ot y Paintings and Calligraphy by Bada Slianren from the Estate ofWang Fangyu and Sum Wai JOSEPH CHANG AND QIANSHEN BAI CATALOGUE STEPHEN D. ALLEE Freer Gallery ofArt Smithsonian Institution Washington, D.C. in association with Weatherhill, Inc. (04-^ IVaii^^F<jn}^y!i^iidSiiiiiUiii, C20(13Snuthvom.in Institution BOARD OF THE FREER AND SACKLER GALLERIES Allnghfiieser\ed. Mrs.HartFessendeii,CiiaifoftheBooni Mr,RichardM,Danziger, IViTChtiirofllic Bo.iid PublishedbytheFreerGalleryofArt,Smithsonian Mr,JeffreyRC"uiiard Institution,Washington.D,C.,inassociationwith Mrs,MaryPatriciaWilkieEbrahimi WeatherhiU,Inc. Mr,GeorgeJ,Fan Dr,RobertS.Feinberg HEAD OF PUBLICATIONS LyiineShaner Dr,KurtA.Gitter EDITOR CiilSpilsburv Mrs.MargaretM.H.ildem.m DESIGNER K.iteLvdon Mrs.RichardHelms Mrs.AnnR.Kinney COVER Li/.if//diiH;and Cdlligmpliy. 1690, Mr.H.ChristopherLuce cat.entry p.4.^. Mrs.JillHornorMa ENDPAPER Deail,Rubbingofthe"HolyMotlior Mr.Paul G.Marks Mamisaipt," 1698.cat.entry 17,p.93. Ms.Ehzabeth E.Meyer HALf.TITLE PAGE Detail.LlUFhnra>and Mrs.ConstanceC.Miller Ciilligwphy. I(.90.cat.cntr\ 3.p.43. Mrs.DanielP.Moynihan TITLE PAGE Detail.Lddi.i, ca. 1665.cat.entry 1, Mr.FrankH.Pearl p.33. Dr.GursharanSidhu PREFACES Detail.Lyh1>oipcafiorNi Zaii. Mr.MichaelR.Sonnenreich ca. !703-l7().S.cat.entry33,p.141. Mr.AbolalaSoudavar CATALOGUE DIVIDER PAGE Detail,fjUingBower, ProfessorElizabethtenGrotenhtiis ca. 1692.lat.entrv 5.p.46. Mr.Paul FWalter CHINESE DOCUMENTATION DIVIDER PAGE Detail, Ms.ShelbyWhite Satpmico!theliiihi ('/rlic^'oHoirCoin!, 1684,cat.entiN' 2,p.39, HONORARY MEMBER APPENDICES DIVIDER PAGE Detail,LoliisOlid SirJosephHotung Diicki.ca. 169(1,cat.entr\-9,p.67. NOTE Dimensionsaregivenincentimeters;height prcLedeswidthprecedesdepth.Allcatalogueentries arebyB.idaShanren (1626-i70-S). LibraryotCongressCataloging-in-PubhcationData Chang,Joseph, Inpursuitofhea\eni\ harinc^n\:paintingsand calligraphybyBadaShanren/byJosephCiiangand QianshenBai;cataloguebyStephenD.Alice, p.cm. 1, Zhu.Da, 1626-]705--E>;hibitions.2, Calligraphy Chinese—History—Mlng-Qingdvnasties, 1368-1912- -Exhibitions.3. Wang. Fangyu, 1913-1997—Artcollections—E.xhibitions. 4. Sum.Wai-Art collections—E.\hibirions.5. Calligraphy—Private collections—Washington,D,C,—Exhibitions.6. Calligraphy—Washington, D.C.—E.xhibitioiis.7, FreerGallery—Exhibitions, I, Zhu.Da,1626-1705,II.Bai.Qianshen.HI,Alice, Stephen D, IV,Title. ND14,57,C56Z4.S32003 745,6'1995r092-dc21 2002012387 4^ t ^ Smithsonian Printed m Chin.i FreerGalleryofArt
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